Head of St Johnstone’s youth academy Alistair Stevenson hailed a fantastic national trophy win on Sunday.
Saints’ stars of the future at the under-16/17 age group dramatically lifted the Scotland Cup at McDiarmid Park.
The young Perth side played out an exciting 2-2 draw - Bayley Klimionek and Jackson Mylchreest the scorers - with Motherwell.
And that meant the bumper home crowd was treated to a penalty shootout to determine the champions.
Goalkeeper Kyle Thomson, who also saved from 12 yards earlier in the afternoon, played a starring role as Saints ran out winners to spark joyous celebratory scenes.
“Kyle made a fantastic penalty save in the first half,” Stevenson said.
“He is actually a year younger and is able to play again for this team next year.
“His last save in the shootout created quite a bit of excitement within the stadium.
“We had a very good crowd watching, similar to the Manchester United game.
“There were lots of parents, friends and also fans who hadn’t gone through to Easter Road for the first team match.”
Some first team players and club officials made it back in time from the capital to watch the trophy-lifting moment.
Stevenson said: “Directors were back in time to see it all happening.
“I think they saw the atmosphere and how much the youth academy means to so many people.
“To win a national youth cup is quite an achievement. You maybe don’t realise it at the time.
“The younger teams were there too and they got on at the end to be part of the photos. It was all great.
“It was the second time we had beaten Motherwell after playing them in the qualifying group.
“We had already beaten Hibs too. This wasn’t just a one-off. There were a number of games to win this.”
Stevenson added: “We are competing at a national level. Financially, you can’t compete with the big clubs.
“But we’re doing more than enough to keep finding players. We still have a conveyor belt of players.”
