Carey Cracker Sends Saints into the Semi

Super sub Graham Carey scored a fantastic winner late in the game as St Johnstone set up a Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Celtic.

Livingston were flying in the first-half, and some big chance from Robbie Muirhead and Andrew Shinnie really should have been converted had it not been for some big saves from Andy Fisher.

The second-half was dull and dragged on until Graham Carey produced bullet in the blue as he lashed in off the crossbar from 30 yards to book St Johnstone a spot at Hampden in April.

With Aberdeen, Celtic and Hearts already sealing their place at Hampden with quarter-final victories over the weekend, the final Scottish Cup semi-final spot would be revealed on a cold Monday evening under the lights at Almondvale.

With Livingston loanee Stevie May being unable to play against parent club St Johnstone, Tete Yengi took his place in attack. Rangers loanee Robbie Fraser dropped to the bench in the other change to the team, with Andrew Shinnie coming into the starting eleven. This change meant that Cristian Montano dropped back from attack to defence. David Martindale’s side were looking to reach the semi-final of the Scottish Cup for the first-time since 2021.

Simo Valakari had fired the pre-match shots at David Martindale’s tactics, saying that his side would have to prepare to face a team that uses the ‘dark arts’ to try and win. He made one change, with Ola Svedberg coming into the side in place of Drey Wright, who was named on the bench.

Stephen Duke-McKenna was an early booking just 5 minutes into the game, and Robbie Muirhead picked out Shinnie from the resulting free-kick, with his headed effort forcing Andy Fisher into a stop low to his left.

Macauley Tait, on loan from Hearts, stepped in to win it from Saints captain Sven Sprangler in the middle of the park, forcing it through to Muirhead who couldn’t find Fisher’s bottom-left corner, slotting just wide of goal when he really should have found the opener.

Livi continued to roar, with Danny Wilson forcing another low stop from Fisher after meeting the long throw, another big save keeping the tie level from the man between the sticks.

Shinnie went over in the box soon after, with Almondvale believing they were denied a clear penalty after he was caught in the face by Zach Mitchell, and it was almost a double blow for the home side as St Johnstone went straight up the park and found the net with a sweeping attacking move. Sidibeh provided the finishing touch from a Sam Curtis cross, only for the linesman’s flag to deny the Saints the opener.

There was no VAR in action tonight, and had it been in action, it may have warranted a second-look for referee Don Robertson.

Feeling hard done by but with a spring in their step following their encouraging start to the game, Livi were attacking with a bit more flair as Tete Yengi latched onto a ball over the top and skilfully back-heeled it to Muirhead who missed the target once again, his second guilt-edged chance of the evening.

It wasn’t just heroics from Fisher in the Saints net preventing Livi from taking the lead, as the crossbar foiled their next close attempt as Scott Pitman skimmed the frame of the goal from just outside the box.

Duke-McKenna could never seem to get the better of Jamie Brandon in any of their duels in the opening 45, and it was no surprise to see him withdrawn for Wright at the break.

Wright’s first action was a positive one, sending in a teasing free-kick that was left by two blue shirts for Mackenzie Kirk, whose tame header was easily claimed by Jerome Prior, the first time he had really been tested outside of the offside goal.

The second-half started as one that was lacking the chances or the excitement of the first, and it looked like we were certainly heading for extra-time with 17 minutes left to play had it not been for the introduction of Graham Carey.

Carey zinged a fantastic wide pass on his left boot to Drey Wright who spurned the cross, and Carey decided to take matters into his own hands just a few moments later as he took one touch to take the ball out of his feet, and smashed a left-footed pile-driver from about 30 yards out in off of Prior’s crossbar.

Jason Holt made a positive run down the right hand-side and cut it back to the onrushing Wright, who had the chance to kill the game but instead hammered it over the crossbar.

Outside of the goal, one of the only note-worthy moments was on 87 minutes when for a brief period the home side had 12 players on the park, making a triple substitution, but yet only 2 Livingston players had left the field. That moment of confusion was swiftly amended a few seconds later as captain Brandon finally left the field.

Simo Valakari’s side took the last spot in the final four as they reached the semi-final stage of the Scottish Cup for the first time since they won the tournament in 2021.

In amongst the joy and euphoria of the big win, they did however learn that they would have the unfortunate fate of facing reigning champions Celtic.

Match Analysis

It seemed as though Valakari’s pre-match ‘dark arts’ taunts had lit the fire in David Martindale’s side, as they played some fantastic football in the first-half that you don’t usually associate with them, and truthfully they should have been two or three goals ahead heading to the break.

The only reason the scores were level was because of some top-drawer stops from Fisher, the one to deny Shinnie’s header from then long throw in particular being the real standout.

The second-half was a hard-watch for the neutral, with nothing of note occurring until the eventual match-winner 17 minutes from the end.

It was going to take a moment of magic as neither side could seem to put a passage of play together, and up stepped Graham Carey to provide that magic with an absolute thunderbolt from range.

That joy and euphoria of the big win on the road may have been short-lived for the travelling fans as they learnt that they would have the unfortunate fate of facing reigning champions Celtic.

What did the managers have to say?

David Martindale, Livingston Manager: “There was 6 big moments in the game and really that’s what the game comes down to.

“There was a stonewall penalty that we have kind of had an apology for. You can argue that there is no attempt to play the ball.

“But that’s the game, we don’t take our chances. It’s a wonder strike and you won’t see many of them in a season.

“He was definitely a player that we had earmarked before the game,I was happy that he wasn’t playing, but I knew when he came on that he was going to cause us problems.”

Simo Valakari, St Johnstone Manager: “I have to give big, big credit to Livingston. There is not many times through analysing them I have seen them play this way. It was very difficult for us to get momentum in the game. When we got the ball our quality was not good enough, which made it difficult to get any kind of rhythm.

“But we needed some magic and heroics and Fisher kept us in the game in the first-half. Half-time we calmed down everyone and changed a little bit, but kept the defending the same.

“Second-half was much, much easier. We needed some magic and Graham Carey, we all know how good his left-foot is.”