JASON SCOTLAND has already broken Hibs’ hearts in a Scottish Cup semi-final—and now he wants to repeat the feat in the CIS Cup.
With just under half-an-hour remaining of Dundee United’s last-four clash with the Easter Road side in April 2005, Scotland came off the bench to help turn the tide for the Tangerines.
He went on to score with a spectacular 25-yard strike that day to secure United’s place in the Hampden showpiece against Celtic.
Red tape forced the Trinidadian striker to leave Tannadice after that 1-0 loss to the Hoops, but he will have an opportunity to return to the national stadium with Saints if they can triumph at Tynecastle tomorrow.
“I was a bit of a super sub for United at the time,” recalled Scotland.
“When I went on to the pitch, Hibs were a goal ahead but somehow I helped to totally change the game.
“Jim McIntyre got us level, then I scored my goal and we went on to win.
“I have really good memories of that day, playing at Hampden in such a big match.
“Not only did we get into the cup final but we also qualified for the UEFA Cup.
“I think about those times a lot and it was a shame that I didn’t get to play in Europe after scoring the goal that got United there.
“Now I have the chance to get back to Hampden if we win on Wednesday.
“However, we can’t really afford to look past the Hibs game as they are a dangerous team. Any side in the SPL will tell you that.”
Saints, of course, earned their place in the last four with a thrilling 2-0 victory over Rangers at Ibrox—surely the result of the competition so far.
The night of November 8, 2006, will live long in the memory of every Perth fan privileged to witness that win.
Also, it should not be forgotten that another SPL side, Dundee United, were sent packing in the previous round.
So should the McDiarmid men make it to the final they will certainly have earned their place.
“We have had difficult draws but we have played well and deserved to win both those previous games,” argued Scotland.
“That was because we performed to such a high standard and we hope to do so again against Hibs.
“We know we have players capable of winning the tie but it depends on what happens on the night.
“At Ibrox we started off brightly and took it from there.
“I firmly believe we can do well again in what is such a big game. I am certainly looking forward to it and it should be a great occasion for the fans.”
St Johnstone got the ideal tonic for tomorrow night in the form of a fine 2-1 win over Gretna on Saturday—a result that gave them renewed hope of catching the Division One leaders.
“As the gaffer (Owen Coyle) said, everybody gave their all on Saturday and if that happens on a more consistent basis then we can have a good finish to the season,” added Scotland.
“We dominated for long periods against Gretna and should have been two or three goals up before they scored.
“The heads maybe went down at that stage but we showed character to come back and win the game.
“The guys were all buzzing afterwards and if we can carry on playing our football to that standard I am sure we can do something on Wednesday.”
It was the dynamic duo of Scotland and Steven Milne that pulled the Rangers defence apart at Ibrox but Savo’s knee operation means the Trinidadian will have a different partner this time.
“Steven and myself worked well together that night because our two different styles complemented each other,” he recalled.
“It could be Peaso (Peter MacDonald) and me this time. Although we are more alike as strikers, we combined well against Gretna and there is no reason why we can’t make it difficult for Hibs.”
MacDonald bruised his knee on Saturday but is expected to be available for the semi-final. New signing Derek Lilley is cup-tied from his time at Morton.
Manager Coyle still has hopes of adding to his squad but his main focus will be on preparing the team for the Hibs game.
“Getting to a semi-final is an achievement in itself for a club like St Johnstone but by that I don’t mean we are satisfied with just getting there,” said Coyle.
“On the contrary, we are determined to do all we can to win.”