Jonah Ayunga: From Pompey rejection to Scottish football hero as Celtic suffer historic cup final defeat
A player once linked with a move to Pompey from non-league neighbours the Hawks played a key role in a shock cup final defeat for Scottish giants Celtic on Sunday.
A striker once recommended to Pompey by non-league neighbours Havant & Waterlooville played a starring role as St Mirren stunned Celtic to claim an unexpected Premier Sports Cup final win at Hampden on Sunday.
The reigning Scottish Premiership champions were overwhelming favourites to lift silverware for the first time under new manager Wilfried Nancy.
But they found themselves on the wrong end of a shock 3-1 defeat as former Hawks striker Jonah Ayunga scored twice in the second half to secure the Buddies only a second League Cup title in their 148-year history.
Cup final hero Jonah Ayunga could have played for Pompey
It was during the Kenya international’s second season at Westleigh Park - a National League South campaign that saw the forward net 17 times for Paul Doswell’s side - that Ayunga’s name was put to then Fratton Park boss Kenny Jackett.
However, any hopes of a move to PO4 were quickly dashed as the Blues thought the jump from non-league to League One was a leap too far.
Speaking at the time, Jackett said: ‘We scout a lot of players during the course of the season. We did scout him and he would have been coming into a position where we already have established players.
‘We'll see (if we bring in another striker). In terms of the front three, we have Ellis Harrison, John Marquis, Ronan Curtis, Reeco Hackett-Fairchild, Marcus Harness and Ryan Williams. Those are our options at the minute.’
In a 2020 chat with The News, Doswell admitted he spoke about the player many times with Portsmouth. He said: ‘I get on really well with Kenny Jackett and we’ve had many conversations about Jonah.
‘We get on great with Mark Catlin (former CEO) as well and he was aware of Jonah. I think at that point they wanted to go with a bit more experience up front, especially if they were going to go into the Championship - which was a possibility at that point. They felt that Jonah would not have been quite ready at that point.’
Bristol Rovers eventually took a chance on Ayunga and he actually scored his first two goals for his new club in a win against Pompey in February 2021.
A one-year spell with Morecambe followed, before the striker moved north of the border to join St Mirren during the summer of 2022.
An ACL injury suffered in January 2023 limited his involvement with the Buddies - but he has certainly come to the fore in impressive style since then.
Ayunga - ‘everyone was in it together’
Ayunga was his side’s match-winner as they produced a shock Premier Sports Cup final victory against Celtic on Sunday.
The two sides were level as the final half-hour approached, after Celtic forward Reo Hatate cancelled out an early strike from St Mirren captain Marcus Fraser.
However, Ayunga restored his side’s lead midway through the second half with a header from an Alex Gogic cross, before doubling his tally for the day to secure silverware with quarter of an hour remaining.
Speaking to Premier Sports TV after the game, the striker said: ‘Amazing, honestly. I know I was speaking before the game, I didn't see this going any other way. Not for a second did I think we were gonna lose today. Everyone was in it together, we went 1-0 up, people were dying to keep the ball out of the net, the same with 2-1 and then 3-1.
‘What did it mean to be a part of this? Everything. We said before the game, I've been playing football since professional since I was 17, 18. This is my first cup final, it might be the only one. Same for a lot of the boys in the team, it's the first time, might be the last time, so we had to grab it. Everyone had the energy.’