SCOTTISH football aficionado Gerry Taylor (@thefurlongpole) shares his thoughts on Saturday's Scottish Cup final.
St Johnstone vs Hibernian | Saturday 22nd May 2021, 14:00 | BBC Scotland
The Scottish Cup showdown takes place at 2pm on Saturday at Hampden Park. Initially it was thought there was going to be a small amount of supporters from either side allowed to attend, but due to covid levels in the south side of Glasgow, it will now be played out behind closed doors.
This shouldn't affect St Johnstone in any way, in similar scenarios they have become serial winners at Hampden – winning 3/3 thus far this term, in two semi-finals and the League Cup final.
Hibs have also had a good season finishing best of the rest, in third in the league behind Rangers and Celtic. Jack Ross will be hoping to cap off the season with a trophy, making it a great season.
The Hibees line up pretty much picks itself, the Saints is slightly trickier to predict, due to recent changes forced upon Callum Davidson. The defensive unit is settled for the Perth side, the more difficult choices will be in midfield, and whether to start wide man Glenn Middleton who had a great impact off the bench in the semi-final win against St Mirren.
Corners
A price that has caught my eye is, Hibs 10/11 with Bet 365 to win on corner kicks. The boys from Leith have been a bit of a machine for corners this season, especially with width from the likes of Doig, McGinn and in particular Martin Boyle. They are averaging around 5.37 corners per game.
St Johnstone are averaging 4.61 corners this season. Since the 17th of October Hibs league record for match corners against opponents away from Easter Road is an incredible W11 D1 L2. This includes 3/3 ‘corner' wins against Celtic and Rangers.
Cards
Nick Walsh has the whistle for his first Scottish Cup Final. Since Christmas he has dished out 62 yellow cards and 3 red cards in 18 games(approx 3.5 average). He has also brandished 3 yellow cards in a recent head to head with these two finalists.
So 40+ bookings points with Skybet at Evens, should be more than achievable given, the players won't have many chances in their career for a Scottish Cup winners medal, and won't be holding back.
Liam Craig at 2/1, is also maybe worth a punt for a card. He has received 8 yellow cards in the equivalent minutes of 18 games. Craig also saw red early in the season against the Easter Road men.
Goals
I have a feeling we will see a few goals in this final. An early one would obviously open it right up. The Saints have scored 3-1-2 in their Hampden appearances this season, and Hibs have the triple pronged goal threat of Nisbet(18 goals) Boyle(15) and Doidge(13). I like the 15/8 with Boylesports for Both Teams To Score and over 2.5 goals.
Hopefully this will be a cracking final, to bring down the curtain on the Scottish season. As a neutral, I’ve enjoyed watching both sides this season. Callum Davidson reminds me of a young Steve Clarke – calm, assured and can organise a team, to be hard to beat. Jack Ross is likeable too, and has done an excellent job, in his first full season with the Edinburgh side. May the best team win.
Best Bets
St Johnstone vs Hibs – Hibs to have most corners (10/11 Bet365)
St Johnstone vs Hibs – 40+ Booking Points (1/1 SkyBet)
St Johnstone vs Hibs – Liam Craig to be carded (12/5 SkyBet)
St Johnstone vs Hibs – Both Teams To Score and Over 2.5 Goals (15/8 BoyleSports)
