This was a chance for Hibernian to make history. This was a chance to secure a major trophy. This was a chance for Hibernian to enter the Europa League play-offs. This was a chance for our players to go and stamp their authority on the game and prove to everyone that Hibs have better players than St. Johnstone. So many chances and not one of them taken.

I watched the game at my nephew’s house in Livingston and so I’ve had plenty of time during my drive home to get my emotions in order. Of course, there’s disappointment but most of all I feel angry and let down. Once again, we failed to get the measure of a pretty average St. Johnstone side and once again, we failed to score against them. I’m angry because St. Johnstone did what it says on the tin. There were no surprises about how they set up and how their game plan would pan out. They were exactly the same as the last time they beat us and the time before that too. The fact that we couldn’t cope with that, again, leads me to form two conclusions, the first being that Jack Ross had and has no answer to the problem and secondly, our players once again at Hampden, failed to turn up when it mattered most.

Looking to Jack Ross first. His game plan seemed no different than the game plan he’s used against St. Johnstone this season. That plan clearly hadn’t worked before and yet there was no attempt to come up with other options. Even during the game, there was little or no evidence of us changing anything to try and get a foothold.

As to the players, they must shoulder equal responsibility with the manager as their efforts today were woeful and I include all of those who took part. Our front three were anonymous, our midfield was dominated, and our defenders looked shaky throughout. Usually, you can come out of a defeat and say well so and so played well or the three at the back were solid for example but this afternoon at Hampden Park in a Scottish Cup final not one of them ‘turned up’ with only Macey’s penalty save exonerating him to a degree.

As to the game itself, Hibs started in second gear and pretty much stayed there for the entirety of the game. I had anticipated that we’d come out of the blocks and press them early doors but instead we allowed them to gain the upper hand and in truth they kept that upper hand throughout. Bryson and Kane both had early efforts blocked in the first fifteen minutes when it looked as though both teams were sizing each other up. As an attacking threat, Hibs were poorer than poor, although a fine cross from the right looked destined for the head of Doidge before Jason Kerr beat him to the ball and cleared it for a corner.

In the twenty seventh minute, Newell did well to force possession at the edge of the box and the ball reached Irvine some ten yards out, but his shot struck the legs of Clarke and was cleared. Soon after, Doidge had an effort blocked but the truth is that foray’s in to the St. Johnstone box were few and far between. In the thirty second minute the deadlock was broken and the lead up to the goal summed up, for me, difference between the two teams. The ball was out wide on their left and Boyle’s attempted tackle on Booth was weak allowing the Saints defender to pick out Wotherspoon who easily won a fifty, fifty challenge with Mc Ginn and then turned Gogic outside in before delivering a ball to the back post where Rooney easily outjumped Doig to bullet a header past Macey. Their guys stood up to the challenge, ours did not.

It was a shocker of a goal to concede. We had two clear chances to stifle the move, but Boyle and McGinn were not up to the job. Then, Gogic failed to stop the cross coming in by letting Wotherspoon do what Wotherspoon always does by cutting the ball back to his right foot whilst Gogic committed himself to blocking a left footed cross. Then, we had Doig marking Rooney at the back post whilst Hanlon and Porteous stood around the centre of the six yard box marking nobody in particular. Rooney’s threat was obvious before the game and our manager should have ensured he’d be marked by someone capable of competing with his physicality and threat in the air.

Once we were behind it was almost inevitable, we’d stay there. We’ve failed to break them down before and that was when some of our players actually turned up. I half wonder whether the endless talk of it being curtains if they scored first was lodged in the minds of the players.

Five minutes after conceding, Newell burst forward to the edge of the box, but his shot was always rising and failed to test Clarke. At times, Hibs were chasing shadows but as the half time whistle neared, Irvine actually made contact with an opponent and earned a yellow in the process. Going in a goal down at least gave the manager a chance to rally his troops but although Hibs looked a bit spritelier in the opening exchanges they soon reverted to type. In fairness, during those early moments, Nisbet flashed a shot across goal but it was at the other end that St. Johnstone had a chance to increase their lead having broken quickly from a corner, it took a last minute challenge from Newell to deny Rooney. Sixty seconds later, Wotherspoon curled an effort in with his left foot but Macey gathered easily.

From a corner, Doidge got a header on target, but it went straight to Clarke and then ten minutes into the half, Jack Ross replaced Gogic with Murphy, the new man going to the left with Irvine moved into the middle. Briefly, it looked as though Murphy might make things happen, but it soon petered out and St Johnstone came close yet again when a shot from Middleton was saved by Macey. Moments later, Wotherspoon had a go but the outcome was the same.

Hibs replaced Newell with Hallberg and just a couple of minutes later, poor defending allowed Kane to race into the Hibs box whereupon he was brought down by Paul McGinn for a clear cut penalty. Up stepped Middleton who struck his effort well enough, but Macey guessed right and got down to save but the ball rebounded out to Kane whose effort was also saved by the Hibs keeper. At that point, I thought ‘here’s the wake up call you need Hibs’, but little changed in our approach to the game.

With fifteen minutes to go, the injured Josh Doig was replaced by Lewis Stevenson and with the clock against them, Hibs pushed more men forward but in doing so left gaps at the back which St. Johnstone did their utmost to exploit but somehow, we kept them out. At the other end, Porteous made good contact with a header but it was steered straight into the hands of Zander Clarke.

The scene was set for a rip roaring, all out attack by Hibs but what we got was totally the opposite as the game fizzled out.

The players

Macey – Good double save at the penalty. My mate felt he could have come for the cross that resulted in the goal. I’m not so sure.

Porteous, Hanlon, Doig, McGinn, Boyle, Newell, Gogic, Irvine, Doidge and Nisbet all fall into the same bracket for me – woeful. It would, I think, be unfair of me to be so hard on the subs but it has to be said they made little difference to the game.

Jack Ross – I was stunned to read that he felt he could not be critical in terms of what the players put into the game. Really?? The players virtually to a man let him, themselves and us down with a pitiful display of football.

Referee – Nick Walsh was fine.