Before a fantastic crowd, Jeanfield Swifts stepped into the Perthshire Cup Final for the fourth consecutive season, having won two of the previous three finals. Standing between them and a third Perthshire Cup triumph in four years was St. Johns AFC. Despite Jeanfield's strong record against their opponents in recent seasons, the Swifts knew cup finals are different occasions where every team finds another level.

Jeanfield settled quickly and took control of the early exchanges. Their bright start was rewarded after just 10 minutes when A. Philips burst through the defence before unselfishly slipping the ball into the path of J. Jardine, who calmly slid his finish underneath the goalkeeper.

The opening goal settled the Swifts, but St. Johns responded well and created chances of their own. Both sides struck the woodwork during an entertaining first half, yet neither could find another breakthrough as Jeanfield took a deserved 1-0 lead into the interval.

The message at half-time was simple, raise the intensity, and the goals will come.

The response was exactly what the management team wanted. Just five minutes into the second half, young star A. Philips was once again the provider, laying the ball into the path of J. Jardine, who produced a superb curling finish beyond the goalkeeper to double Jeanfield's advantage and to score his 40th goal of the season.

At 2-0, it looked as though the trophy was heading back to the Riverside, but there was still one nervous moment on 65 minutes when A. Hay produced a brilliant goal-line clearance to deny St. Johns a route back into the contest.

That scare only sharpened Jeanfield's focus. On 74 minutes, A. Abboud timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap before squaring the ball for J. Jardine, who completed a clinical hat-trick to put the final beyond doubt.

St. Johns continued to battle during the closing stages, but they were restricted to long balls into the box, all of which were comfortably dealt with by the Jeanfield defence and goalkeeper.

The final whistle sparked scenes of celebration as Jeanfield Swifts were crowned Perthshire Cup champions once again, securing a memorable 3-0 victory and completing a magnificent treble-winning season.

Fulltime
Jeanfield Swifts AFC 3
St. Johns AFC 0

J. Jardine ⚽⚽⚽

Man of the Match was Robbie Green, who produced a commanding midfield performance, dictating the tempo and controlling the game from start to finish.

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