Saints had by far the better of the first half but somehow found themselves only a goal up at the interval. Accies failed to clear a free-kick properly and when David van Zanten played the ball back in, Lappin was there to prod it over the line. In the process, he became the first Saints player to score in a cup final since Ian Ferguson's glorious strike at Hampden in 1987.
Hamilton must have been relieved to only be behind by a goal at the break and levelled things up pretty quickly, Scott Tunbridge on hand to score a rebound after Chris Smith had failed to save a shot. Billy Reid's side enjoyed control for a spell before the game evened out, with extra time looking likely. A rare moment of comedy was provided when Lappin hit the flag when trying to take a corner!
With ten minutes left, everything changed. van Zanten picked up the ball on the right, cut inside and crossed for Sutton to head past Dave McEwan and send several thousand Saints fans wild. For some reason when van Zanten picked up the ball I just knew it would be the moment - don't ask why!
There was still time for Hamilton have a goal chalked off when the linesman decided the ball had already gone out of play before it was crossed. Then, after the nerves of injury time, it was all over. Saints had won the cup and the celebrations had begun. It may have been a diddy cup, but try telling us that when Kevin McGowne went up to collect it!
Very few members of the 16 players in the Saints squad that day are still at the club. Only three members of the starting line-up - Chris Smith, John Potter and Hugh Murray - are still here, while Billy Mehmet came off the bench. Andy Millen played the full game but is now effectively retired. The rest are all gone and McGowne and Mark Reilly have both retired.
To relive the goals and glory of that day, have a look at this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1oQW4zXz4Gk