Saints’ demolish the Bullywee as double cup dream lives on
(3-4-3) Parish 7; Mccart 7, Gordon 7, Kerr 7; Tanser 7, Craig 7 (Mccann 79, 2), Wotherspoon 8 (Gilmour 67 4), Brown 7; May 7, Melamed 7 (Middleton 71, 4), O’halloran 7. Subs not used – Clark, Booth, Rooney, Bryson, Kane, Ferguson. CLYDE:
(4-5-1) Vajs 6; Otoo 5, Mcniff 5, Howie 5, Bain 5; Cunningham 5 (Ritchie-hosler 64, 4), Robertson 5, Thomson 5, Lamont 5
Melamed (6), O’halloran (21) St Johnstone edged a step closer to an unprecedented domestic cup double as they booked a Scottish Cup quarter-final place with a routine 2-0 win over Clyde at Mcdiarmid Park.
First-half goals by Guy Melamed and Michael O’halloran were enough to see the Scottish Premiership side easily brush the Bully Wee aside in this last-16 Scottish Cup clash with the Saints now dreaming of a return trip to Hampden Park.
Callum Davidson’s men are getting ready to dust down the Mcdiarmid Park trophy room cabinet once again as the Saints bid to add the Scottish Cup to the League Cup – which the Perth side won for the first time in their history after their triumph over Livingston at the national stadium last month – remains firmly intact.
Davidson made eight changes to the side that lost 1-0 to Aberdeen in the league last weekend as Zander Clark, Shaun Rooney, Ali Mccann, Craig Bryson, Callum Booth,
Glenn Middleton, Craig Conway and Chris Kane were replaced by Elliot Parish, James Brown, Liam Craig, David Wotherspoon, Tanser, O’halloran, Melamed and May.
Clyde had not tasted the dizzy heights of the quarter-final stages of the Scottish Cup since 2005 and whilst the prize was a huge one for Danny Lennon’s part-time League One outfit, they certainly had their work cut out if they were to end that 16-year hoodoo.
It was the home side who raced out of the starting blocks when they took the lead in the sixth minute.
Wotherspoon neatly fed O’halloran who advanced down the left-hand side and pulled the ball back into the path of Guy Melamed who had the easiest of tasks and he gleefully tapped home from close range with his left foot.
The hosts doubled their lead on 21 minutes when May picked up the ball after some slack play by Clyde saw May pick up and he released O’halloran who sprinted clean in on goal and the former Rangers star produced a clinical low finish with his left foot as he confidently slotted past Vajs to make it 2-0.
It was one-way traffic and Tanser should have grabbed a third for the Saints on 26 minutes when Wotherspoon’s deep cross picked out the defender at the back post but his tame header from inside the six yard box was saved by Vajs.
Jamie Mccart then hammered in a drive that was hacked off the line by Mark Munro on 40 minutes.
The impressive Wotherspoon then sent over a delicious freekick which evaded everybody and slipped inches wide of the target in 53 minutes as Saints went in search of a third goal.
Melamed then almost claimed his second of the contest when his header following Wotherspoon’s cross was cleared off the line by Clyde’s Mark Lamont.
It was a measure of the gulf in class between the sides that it took until the 63rd minute before Saints goalkeeper Parish touched the ball with his hands.
Wotherspoon then floated over a corner on 67 minutes that saw Melamed crash a header off the crossbar and that was the midfielders last contribution as he made way for Charlie Gilmour.
Clyde thought they had gained a lifeline back in the contest on 77 minutes when substitute Jamieson rolled the ball into the net after Liam Gordon and Parish dithered too long with the ball at the back but their blushes were saved by far side assistant Andy Milne who flagged for offside.
It was the Saints who go marching in and their reward is a mouth-watering last eight clash against the winners of today’s tie between Rangers and Celtic.