THE Scottish Cup is famous for throwing up some of the best stories in football. 

And Saturday’s final produced another as St Johnstone clinched a historic cup double by toppling Hibernian at the national stadium. 

Defender Jamie McCart along with his defensive teammates Liam Gordon and Jason Kerr were monumental as they continued their fine form that has been key to the successes of the Perth club over the course of the season. 

McCart shared an emotional moment with his father at full-time as he showed off the Scottish Cup trophy on FaceTime while parading around the Hampden pitch.  

It was an extra special day for the family as the weekend’s game was exactly 30 years on from dad Chris McCart lifting the Scottish Cup with Motherwell back in the 1990/91 season. 

“I honestly can’t put this into words, it’s just incredible,” McCart smiled. “It’s 30 years on, exactly. It’s ridiculous how it has happened like this. I managed to FaceTime my dad on the park after the game so that was good. 

“It’s just incredible, I know I keep using that word, but it’s just how I feel right now. I don’t believe in all that stuff when people say it’s written in the stars or whatever. 

“I’m not in any way superstitious. The boys will tell you I don’t do anything like that. But it’s been a fairytale season and to win the Scottish Cup exactly 30 years after my dad did it is just amazing. 

 “Like I say, I don’t think it will really sink in for quite some time. We were pretty comfortable, but you always have to be aware because they have really good players, their front three especially. 

“They’ve got quality all over the park and some of the best strikers in the country. So I think that’s a huge credit to our team the way we handled it. You have to give us credit for how we’ve played. I wouldn’t say we were comfortable throughout but to play that well in a game this big was amazing.” 

Wing-back Shaun Rooney grabbed the winning goal for Saints shortly after 30 minutes and McCart has hailed his teammate for bouncing back from a tough period in his life. 

He continued: “What a guy. What can you say? I was with him during the hard time of his life when he lost his mother and his grandfather. 

 “To see him come through that to see where he is now is just amazing, you cannot put it into words. He is a friend first and foremost, but I am also delighted he’s my teammate. He’s an amazing guy and he deserves this.  

“It is a special day for his family. It was a real hard time for him, I lived with him at that period. He came back up a few days after and it was like nothing had happened. He was just focused on playing football again. 

“I am so fortunate to have him as a friend. And I always knew what an impact he could have for us, I always knew he was ready for it. He deserves all the plaudits that come his way because he has worked so hard for it and he has been through so much.” 

It will take a bit of time for the double achievement to sink in for McCart and his teammates, but the McDiarmid Park squad are already looking ahead to their European adventure. 

Europa League qualifiers await and McCart can’t wait to test himself across the continent. He added: “All the boys were saying afterwards in the dressing room that if you honestly think about it, it probably won’t sink in for years. 

“A team outside the Old Firm winning the cup double is almost unheard of, certainly in modern times. We’ve put out the Invincibles team in Rangers and we have beaten a very good Hibs side in the final. It’s just incredible. 

“I don’t think we’ll get away anywhere this summer but I will enjoy this with the boys and then with my family. 

“These are special times. And, of course, we go again next season. A few boys joked that retirement comes next because it doesn’t get any better than this. 

“We believe we can still go again next season and that will be the aim. Next season, we might not win the double but we have European football and we have to be looking at the top six. We want to kick on, of that there is no doubt.”