Canadian international David Wotherspoon helps St. Johnstone win Scottish League Cup

GLASGOW, United Kingdom — Canadian international David Wotherspoon helped St. Johnstone win the Scottish League Cup for the first time in the club’s 137-year history with a 1-0 win over Livingston on Sunday.

Shaun Rooney’s 32nd-minute header off a corner proved to be the difference maker at an empty Hampden Park in the final of the cup competition sponsored by Betfred.

Wotherspoon, a 31-year-old midfielder, played the full 90 minutes for St. Johnstone.

Wotherspoon was born in Perth and represented Scotland at the youth level but is eligible to play for Canada through his Winnipeg-born mother. He reached out to Canada Soccer after seeing Scott Arfield switch to Canada.

Wotherspoon made his debut for Canada against New Zealand in 2018 in John Herdman’s first game as coach. He also played against Cuba in CONCACAF Nations League play in 2019.

He started his soccer career in the Celtic youth ranks, switching to Hibernian before joining St. Johnstone. He won the Scottish Cup, which is separate from the League Cup, in 2014 in his first year with St. Johnstone.

The Perth-based club currently stands eighth in the Scottish Premiership. Livingston is fifth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2021

The Canadian Press