St Johnstone have taken the League Cup past its home of four years at Celtic Park – but Shaun Rooney knew Hampden could be the place to bring it to Perth for the first time.
The right-back wrote himself into Saints folklore on Sunday as his header sealed a 1-0 League Cup final victory over Livingston, the first in St Johnstone history. It brought an end to Celtic dominance of trophies in Scotland, the Hoops having won four consecutive trebles.
Massive moment for Shaun Rooney. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Rooney, who spent two years with Hampden side Queen’s Park earlier in his career, wonders where the Saints would be if he had been starting earlier on in the season ahead of Danny McNamara, who shone at right-back on loan from Millwall.
He jokingly said: “I just managed to get in front of my man and put it away. I love coming back here (to Hampden) – I played here with Queen’s Park and those were happy days for me. What a manager, what a gaffer – just a pity he (Callum Davidson) didn’t play me much at the start of the season or we might be higher up the league!”
The Saints took a victory lap past Celtic Park as they headed back to Perth. As one of the club’s buses passes the stadium, a voice in the background can be heard saying “We’ve got your cup!”
@CelticFC 👋🏼 pic.twitter.com/vYGUGOzaGV
— St. Johnstone FC News (@sjfcnews) February 28, 2021
St Johnstone will have a quick turnaround from this match, returning to Scottish Premiership action on Wednesday night as they face Hamilton Accies. It’s a crucial match as Saints look to build from their silverware success and secure a top six finish.
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