Motherwell 3 St Johnstone 0:Motherwell's first-half demolition of St Johnstone at Hampden took the Fir Park side to their first Scottish Cup final in 20 years and skipper Stephen Craigan believes they can go an lift the cup as a 'thank you' to their supporters.
The game was effectively finished by half-time after the Lanarkshire side had racked up a three-goal lead, starting in the fifth minute when Craigan scored his first goal in five years when he capitalised on a blunder by Saints goalkeeper Peter Enckelman to head in a corner.
Further goals before the break from Jamie Murphy and John Sutton ensured the second half was a formality, with the Perth men not even able to grab a consolation.
The Steelmen will return to the national stadium on May 21st to play either Aberdeen or Celtic, who play at Hampden tomorrow, and Stuart McCall’s men will certainly be in for a tougher afternoon regardless of who they face.
“If we can perform well and play well we will have a good chance,” said Craigan, with Motherwell looking to bridge the gap since their last Scottish Cup win in 1991.
“The 1991 win lives long in the memories of the supporters of this club and this is a chance for us to give them something back,” he added “We had high expectations coming into the game and there wasn’t much between the team despite the scoreline. We played well and set our stall out, scoring early and giving ourselves a platform.”
Craigan is not known for his goalscoring feats and admitted he was not sure how to react to his fifth-minute opener.
“I didn’t know what to do! Its a strange feeling scoring a goal. People have constantly written me off and have had a pop at me but I’ve got a Scottish Cup final to look forward to.”
Motherwell’s opener came courtesy of thanks to a blunder by Peter Enckelman. The former Aston Villa keeper flapped at Tom Hateley’s corner from the left, allowing Craigan the easiest of tasks to head in from six yards.
Saints were immediately deflated and in the 14th minute their task was made all the more difficult when Murphy drove low past Enckelman after dribbling all too easily to the edge of the box, helped by Saints defenders Steven Anderson and Michael Duberry colliding with each other.
In the 31st minute Motherwell were almost three ahead when Keith Lasley made a good opening for himself inside the St Johnstone box, but the midfielder dragged his shot just wide of Enckelman’s left-hand post.
Duberry was booked for a foul on Lasley before Murphy ended another fine run by driving just wide from inside the box, and moments later he had another effort which went just past the far post.
But in the 38th minute the game was over when Sutton took a pass from Francis Jeffers and arced a shot from 30 yards over the hapless Enckelman and in to the net.
Jordan Robertson replaced Collin Samuel for the start of the second half and four minutes later he was in the book after a late challenge on Motherwell defender Shaun Hutchinson.
In the 51st minute there was a St Johnstone claim for a penalty when defender Dave Mackay’s throw-in looked as if it might have come off the top of Lasley’s arm in the box, but referee Iain Brines was unimpressed.
Moments later, Grainger had a free-kick from 30 yards gratefully clutched just under his crossbar by Randolph before the keeper made a better save from Davidson’s effort from just outside the box.
Robert McHugh came on for Jeffers in the 66th minute while Steven May replaced Kevin Moon for St Johnstone. With Motherwell’s cup final appearance secured, boss Stuart McCall replaced Chris Humphrey with Steve Jones.
In the 80th minute Davidson crashed a header off the bar after latching on to a Grainger corner and with that any slim hopes of an unlikely Saints comeback were gone.
