Highlights: Livingston 0-1 St Johnstone

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Home of the Set Fare Arena

Graham Carey's "extra special left foot" supplied a stunning 30-yard strike and provided the "magic" St Johnstone needed against Livingston to set up a Scottish Cup semi-final against holders Celtic, manager Simo Valakari says.

The substitute winger had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes when he sensationally let rip from distance to deliver the sole goal of the game.

"I see it every day in training," Valakari told BBC Scotland. "What a player.

"He's got an extra special left foot. Beautiful - and we needed some magic tonight. Big credit to Livingston, they put us under pressure."

Indeed they did, as the Premiership side had been dominated by their Championship hosts, who will be left rueing a number of first-half chances they failed to convert.

David Martindale revealed post-match too that referee Don Robertson apologised for not awarding the hosts what the manager called "a stonewall penalty" when Andrew Shinnie was caught in the face by Daniels Balodis.

Saints goalkeeper Andy Fisher also produced a string of superb saves to deny a Livingston side searching for their first Scottish Cup final-four appearance in 21 years.

Although on the back foot for the first 45 minutes, Adama Sidibeh had the ball in the back of the net after a rapid counter, but it was hauled back by the offside flag.

Nobody or nothing could cut Carey's celebrations short, though.

His incredible effort sparked wild scenes in the away end and will be one spoken about fondly long beyond the drive home to Perth.

St Johnstone found out their opponents in their first semi-final since they won the competition in 2021 immediately after the final whistle as they were drawn against Celtic live on BBC Scotland.

What they said

'Stonewall penalty - the ref has apologised'

Livingston manager David Martindale: "You've got to give Graham Carey a bit of credit, it's a wonder-strike. Spoke about him during the week to be fair and was delighted he wasn't starting - I think he's a big player for them and he always creates something.

"Andy Fisher kept them in it - I thought he had two great saves and then I think we've got to do a bit better ourselves. What I will say is it's a stonewall penalty in the first half that we never got - I think it was an easy decision."

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "First of all, we should talk about Andy Fisher's saves in the first half - he kept us in the game. There was some great defending first half as well.

"Second half, everything changed. It was much easier for us. We were not right tactically first half. It looked like we didn't have energy. We changed our defensive shape and our players looked much more aggressive - we started winning balls."

Valakari hails match winner Carey against Livingston

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