The 2020–21 St Johnstone F.C. season was the club's eighth season in the Scottish Premiership and their eleventh consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football. St Johnstone also competed in the Scottish Cup and the League Cup, winning both competitions. St Johnstone became only the fourth Scottish team, and only the second outwith the Old Firm, to win a Scottish cup double.
| 2020–21 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Steve Brown | |||
| Manager | Callum Davidson | |||
| Stadium | McDiarmid Park | |||
| Scottish Premiership | 5th | |||
| Scottish Cup | Winners | |||
| League Cup | Winners | |||
| Top goalscorer | League: Guy Melamed (5) All: Stevie May (9) | |||
| ||||
Season summary edit
After the resignation of Tommy Wright, Alec Cleland took over as interim manager.[1] After sixteen years at the club Steven Anderson left before the season began along with Danny Swanson, Ross Callachan and David McMillan.[2] Former player and assistant manager Callum Davidson was appointed manager.[3] Former striker Steven MacLean retired to become a coach alongside Cleland who returns to his former role.[4] The Saints dropped to the bottom of the table after four games without a goal,[5] but after a 5–3 away win at Hamilton they moved off it.[6]
The Saints reached the final of the League Cup with a 3–0 win against Hibernian.[7] On 28 February 2021, St Johnstone defeated Livingston in the final thanks to a single goal from Shaun Rooney.[8] In doing so, the club won their first League Cup title, their second ever major honour, and ended Celtic's dominating run of having won the last 12 major honours at stake in Scotland.[8]
On 22 May 2021, St Johnstone won the Scottish Cup, defeating Hibs by a score of 1–0 in the final, with Shaun Rooney again netting the winning goal. With the victory, St Johnstone became just the fourth club in Scottish history to win the cup double after Aberdeen, Celtic, and Rangers.[9][10][11]
Results edit
Win Draw Loss Postponed
Pre-season edit
| 21 July 2020 Friendly | Aberdeen | 1–2 | St Johnstone | Aberdeen |
Anderson  |
[12] | Tanser 75' (pen), 80' |
Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 0 |
| 25 July 2020 Friendly | St Mirren | Cancelled | St Johnstone | Paisley |
| [13] | Stadium: St Mirren Park | |||
| Note: Match cancelled after positive COVID-19 tests | ||||
Scottish Premiership edit
| 1 August 2020[14] 1 | Dundee United | 1–1 | St Johnstone | Tannadice Park |
| 15:00 BST | Clark 6' (pen.) |
Report | Craig 55' |
Referee: Kevin Clancy |
| 12 August 2020 3 | Rangers | 3–0 | St Johnstone | Ibrox Stadium |
| 19:45 BST | Barisic 21' Kent 45+2'Aribo 49' |
Report | Referee: Euan Anderson |
| 15 August 2020 4 | Kilmarnock | 1–2 | St Johnstone | Rugby Park |
| 15:00 BST | Tshibola 61' Millen  63' |
Report | Wotherspoon 85' O'Halloran 90+4' |
Referee: Andrew Dallas |
| 20 August 2020 2 | St Johnstone | 0–1 | Aberdeen | McDiarmid Park |
| 19:30 BST | Craig  88' |
Report | Ferguson 53' Hedges 82', 88'McCrorie 89' |
Referee: Willie Collum |
| Note: Rearranged after postponement, live on Sky Sports. | ||||
| 23 August 2020 5 | St Johnstone | 0–1 | Hibernian | McDiarmid Park |
| 16:30 BST | Craig 90+4' |
Report | Mallan 90+1' (pen.) |
Referee: John Beaton |
| Note: Live on Sky Sports, Liam Craig was sent off after the final whistle | ||||
| 29 August 2020 6 | St Johnstone | 1–0 | St Mirren | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 BST | May 72' |
Report | Referee: Kevin Clancy |
| 12 September 2020 7 | Motherwell | 1–0 | St Johnstone | Fir Park |
| 15:00 BST | Campbell 4', 87' O'Hara 36'Watt 48'Carson 69' |
Report | Referee: Euan Anderson |
| 19 September 2020 8 | St Johnstone | 0–1 | Ross County | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 BST | [1] | Vigurs 42' |
Referee: David Munro |
| 26 September 2020 9 | Livingston | 2–0 | St Johnstone | Tony Macaroni Arena |
| 15:00 BST | Tiffoney 34' Forrest 35' |
Report | Referee: Craig Napier |
| 4 October 2020 10 | St Johnstone | 0–2 | Celtic | McDiarmid Park |
| 12:00 BST | Report | Griffiths 90' Klimala 90+3' |
Referee: Nick Walsh |
| 17 October 2020 11 | Hamilton Academical | 3–5 | St Johnstone | New Douglas Park |
| 15:00 BST | Hughes 40', 79' Ogkmpoe 44' |
Report | May 1', 33' Wotherspoon 14'Conway 69', 82' |
Referee: Alan Muir |
| 24 October 2020 12 | St Johnstone | 0–0 | Dundee United | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | Report | Attendance: 0 Referee: Andrew Dallas |
| 6 November 2020 14 | St Johnstone | 1–0 | Kilmarnock | McDiarmid Park |
| 19:45 | McNamara 70' |
Report | Attendance: 0 Referee: Gavin Duncan |
| 21 November 2020 15 | St Johnstone | 1–1 | Motherwell | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | May 34 pen.' |
Report | O'Hara 17' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven Kirkland |
| 24 November 2020 13 | Hibernian | 2–2 | St Johnstone | McDiarmid Park |
| 19:45 | McGinn 36', 83' |
Report | McCann 35' Wotherspoon 76' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Kevin Clancy |
| 6 December 2020 16 | Celtic | 1–1 | St Johnstone | Celtic Park |
| 15:00 | Elyounoussi 83' |
Report | Kane 79' |
Attendance: 0 |
| 12 December 2020 17 | St Johnstone | 1–2 | Livingston | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | Kane 54' |
Report | Guthrie 48' Robinson 65' |
Attendance: 0 |
| 19 December 2020 18 | St Mirren | 3–2 | St Johnstone | St Mirren Park |
| 15:00 | Erhahon 38' Erwin 82'Obika 87' |
Report | May 22 pen.' Tanser 44'Kerr 45' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven McLean |
| 23 December 2020 19 | St Johnstone | 0–3 | Rangers | McDiarmid Park |
| 18:00 | O'Halloran 83' |
Report | Roofe 24' Kamara 31'Hagi 47' |
Attendance: 0 |
| 26 December 2020 20 | Aberdeen | 2–1 | St Johnstone | Pittodrie |
| 15:00 | Gosgrove 45+2 pen.' Taylor 54' |
Report | Gordon 38' Hendry 90' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Alan Muir |
| 30 December 2020 21 | St Johnstone | 0–0 | Hamilton Academical | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | Report | Attendance: 0 Referee: David Munro |
| 2 January 2021 22 | Ross County | 1–1 | St Johnstone | Victoria Park |
| 15:00 | Draper 21' |
Report | Conway 26 pen.' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Willie Collum |
| 12 January 2021 23 | Dundee United | 2–2 | St Johnstone | Tannadice Park |
| 18:00 | Appéré 9' Shankland 53' |
Report | Melamed 16' Kane 38' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Colin Steven |
| 16 January 2021 24 | St Johnstone | 1–0 | St Mirren | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | Kane 46' |
Report | MacPherson 55' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven McLean |
| 27 January 2021 26 | St Johnstone | 0–0 | Aberdeen | McDiarmid Park |
| 18:00 GMT | Gordon 81' |
Report | Considine 24' |
Referee: Don Robertson |
| 30 January 2021 25 | Kilmarnock | 2–3 | St Johnstone | Rugby Park |
| 15:00 | Burke 5' Tshibola 32' |
Report | Melamed 53' Davidson 68'McCann 72' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Greg Aitken |
| 3 February 2021 27 | Rangers | 1–0 | St Johnstone | Ibrox Stadium |
| 19:45 | Roofe 21' Hagi 52' |
Report | Kane 85' |
Referee: David Munro |
| 6 February 2021 28 | Livingston | 1–2 | St Johnstone | Tony Macaroni Arena |
| 15:00 GMT | Pittman 83' |
Report | Tanser 45+2' Rooney 51' |
Referee: Euan Anderson |
| 14 February 2021 29 | St Johnstone | 1–2 | Celtic | McDiarmid Park |
| 12:00 | Rooney 50' |
Report | Édouard 60', 62' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven McLean |
| 20 February 2021 30 | Motherwell | 0–3 | St Johnstone | Fir Park |
| 15:00 GMT | Report | Melamed 19', 50 pen.' Kerr 45' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: John Beaton |
| 3 March 2021 31 | Hamilton Academical | 1–1 | St Johnstone | New Douglas Park |
| 18:00 GMT | Callachan 36' |
Report | Melamed 87' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Grant Irvine |
| 6 March 2021 32 | St Johnstone | 1–0 | Hibernian | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | Craig 16' |
Report | Attendance: 0 Referee: David Dickinson |
| 20 March 2021 33 | St Johnstone | 1–0 | Ross County | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | Middleton 86' |
Report | Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Napier |
| 10 April 2021 34 | St Johnstone | 0–1 | Aberdeen | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | Report | Hayes 52' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: John Beaton |
| 21 April 2021 35 | St Johnstone | 1–1 | Rangers | McDiarmid Park |
| 19:45 | Craig 90+4 pen.' |
Report | Wright 55' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Euan Anderson |
| 1 May 2021 36 | Hibernian | 0–1 | St Johnstone | Easter Road |
| 15:00 GMT | Report | Middleton 22' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Greg Aitken |
| 12 May 2021 37 | Celtic | 4–0 | St Johnstone | Celtic Park |
| 15:00 GMT | Turnbull 23' Édouard 24'Ajer 79'Dembélé 85' |
Report | Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madden |
| 15 May 2021 38 | St Johnstone | 0–0 | Livingston | McDiarmid Park |
| 12:30 | Report | Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Napier |
Scottish League Cup edit
Group stage edit
| 6 October 2020 | Kelty Hearts | 1–2 | St Johnstone | New Central Park |
| 19:45 | Tidser 71' |
Report | Kerr 45+2' Kane 60' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Alan Newlands |
| 10 October 2020 | St Johnstone | 7–0 | Brechin City | McDiarmid Park |
| 15:00 | May 3', 58', 62' Wotherspoon 25', 56'Hendry 88' (pen.)Davidson 90' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Napier |
| 10 November 2020 | St Johnstone | 0–0 (3–4 p) | Dundee United | McDiarmid Park |
| 19:45 | Report | Attendance: 0 |
| 14 November 2020 | Peterhead | 1–3 | St Johnstone | Balmoor Stadium |
| 15:00 | Rooney 78 o.g.' |
Report | May 49 pen.', 60 pen.' Kane 77' |
Attendance: 0 |
Knockout round edit
| 28 November 2020 Second round | Motherwell | 1–2 | St Johnstone | Fir Park |
| 15:00 | Watt 61' |
Report | Hendry 68' Wotherspoon 77' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Alan Muir |
| 15 December 2020 Quarter-final | Dunfermline Athletic | 1–1 (3–4 p) | St Johnstone | East End Park |
| 19:45 |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 0 Referee: Don Robertson |
| 23 January 2021 Semi-final | St Johnstone | 3–0 | Hibernian | Hampden Park |
| 17:30 | Report | Attendance: 0 |
| 28 February 2021 Final | Livingston | 0–1 | St Johnstone | Hampden Park |
| 14:00 | Report |
|
Attendance: 0 Referee: Don Robertson |
Scottish Cup edit
| 3 April 2021 Third round | Dundee | 0–1 | St Johnstone | Dens Park |
| 15:00 | Report | Melamed 20' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Napier |
| 17 April 2021 Fourth round | St Johnstone | 2–0 | Clyde | McDiarmid Park |
| 12:00 | Melamed 6' O'Halloran 21' |
Report | Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven Kirkland |
| 25 April 2021 Quarter-final | Rangers | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (2–4 p) | St Johnstone | Glasgow |
| 18:30 | Report |
|
Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: N/A Referee: Alan Muir | |
| Penalties | ||||
Squad statistics edit
Appearances edit
- As of 22 May 2021
| No. | Pos | Player | Premiership | League Cup | Scottish Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1 | GK |  Zander Clark
|
27 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| 2 | DF |  James Brown
|
4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Scott Tanser
|
21+6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | Jamie McCart
|
36 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Jason Kerr (c)
|
30 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | Liam Gordon
|
35+1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Craig Conway
|
19+8 | 3 | 5+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | Murray Davidson
|
14+7 | 1 | 4+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 28 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | Chris Kane
|
17+10 | 4 | 5+3 | 2 | 2+2 | 2 | 39 | 8 |
| 10 | MF |  David Wotherspoon
|
28+9 | 3 | 7+1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 50 | 6 |
| 11 | FW | Michael O'Halloran
|
13+12 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+3 | 1 | 32 | 2 |
| 12 | GK | Elliot Parish
|
9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Craig Bryson
|
12+8 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Stevie May
|
17+16 | 4 | 3+5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 9 |
| 15 | MF | Charlie Gilmour
|
1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Glenn Middleton
|
3+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 1 | 13 | 3 |
| 17 | FW |  Guy Melamed
|
11+7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 7 |
| 18 | MF | Ali McCann
|
31+2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| 19 | DF | Shaun Rooney
|
20+8 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 5 |
| 20 | FW | John Robertson
|
0+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Callum Booth
|
15+3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| 25 | GK |  Zdeněk Zlámal
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Liam Craig
|
17+5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| 40 | DF | Samuel Denham
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | FW | Alexander Ferguson
|
0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Player who left the club during the season | ||||||||||
| 2 | DF | Wallace Duffy
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF |  Danny McNamara
|
22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| 16 | FW | Isaac Olaofe
|
0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Callum Hendry
|
8+8 | 0 | 3+3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| 23 | MF | Cammy Ballantyne
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | GK | Ross Sinclair
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Team statistics edit
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Hibernian | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 63 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 56 | |
| 5 | St Johnstone | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 36 | 46 | −10 | 45 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[b] |
| 6 | Livingston | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 45 | |
| 7 | St Mirren | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 45 |
Source: [15]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).[16]
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).[16]
Notes:
- ^ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
- ^ St Johnstone qualified as the 2020–21 Scottish Cup winners.
League Cup table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STJ | DUN | PET | KEL | BRE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Johnstone | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 10 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 0–0p | — | — | 7–0 | |
| 2 | Dundee United | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 8 | — | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | ||
| 3 | Peterhead | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 8 | 1–3 | — | — | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 | Kelty Hearts | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1–2 | — | 1–1p | — | — | ||
| 5 | Brechin City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 0 | — | 2–6 | — | 0–2 | — |