Saints lose out to the big Challenge

Jul 29 2008 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THE contrast could hardly have been greater.

Last November, 3,500 Saints fans headed out into the cold, dark streets surrounding Dens Park basking in the glory of having seen their side win a national cup competition.

On Saturday, in sun-drenched Dingwall, it was down to a shirt-sleeved hard core of Perth fans to witness the start of the defence of the trophy.

But, by the time referee Craig Thompson brought the first competitive game of the season to an end, the image of then captain and now manager, Derek McInnes, lifting the silverware into the Dundee sky seemed a million miles away.

With niggling injuries to a number of key personnel upsetting the pre-season preparations and a “position vacant” sign continuing to hang over one of the full-back slots, the Saints line-up was always going to have a make-shift look about it and Liam Craig found himself selected for the Stanic-vacated role, and he certainly let no-one down.

With Steven Anderson deemed fit enough to fill the other full-back slot, Gary Irvine found himself in an unaccustomed though not entirely new centre of midfield slot. However, with barely 25 minutes on the clock the thoughtful plans of the Perth management team were in tatters as first Steven Milne and then Anderson succumbed to injury.

Debutants Collin Samuel and Gavin Swankie were the two selected from an entirely attack-orientated bench but the disruption made it difficult for a Saints side resplendent in new sky blue change kit to make an impression on the newly-promoted home side.

There doesn’t seem to have ever been a time when a game in Dingwall has not involved Saints having to cope with a succession of pacy, tricky, diminutive County attackers and with international clearance failing to come through for beanpole former Perth striker Dyron Daal, it was left to familiar faces such as David Winters, Sean Higgins, Richie Hart and Adam Strachan to ping the ball around the bowling green-like surface.

That said, goalscoring chances were at a premium and the most noteworthy incident of a lacklustre first was when referee Thompson had the whistle knocked clean from his lips with a blow from the ball.

It was during the two minutes added on for the match official’s treatment that the home side came closest to breaking the deadlock with Kevin Rutkiewicz providing a vital interception to prevent Strachan from enjoying a free shot at goal and new keeper Euan McLean getting in a good block from a Hart free-kick, before watching heart-in-mouth as the loose ball looped off the shin of Derek Holmes and onto the roof of the net.

A half-time tactical switch saw Swankie move to the left wing and Paul Sheerin take on a more central role but before the new set-up could have any impact County took the lead when Winters forced the ball home from close range after the Perth rearguard had been pulled one way then another during a lightening-quick break.

Twelve minutes later and the previously sound Stuart McCaffrey was horribly beaten by the bounce of a ball flung forward from the left allowing Higgins to scamper off unattended and provide the necessary clinical finish.

Samuel provided a brief few minutes of hope when he took one neat touch on a Holmes knock-down before drilling the ball into the County net but it proved too little too late – Saints’ attempts to be only the third club to retain the Challenge Cup had fallen at the first hurdle.

Ross County: Bullock, McCulloch, Golabek, Dowie, Boyd, Lawson (Scott), Hart, Brittain, Higgins, Winters, Strachan (Morrison). Subs not used: Malin, Keddie, Girvan

St Johnstone: McLean, Irvine, Anderson (Swankie), Millar, Rutkiewicz, McCaffrey, Craig, Hardie, Holmes, Milne (Samuel), Sheerin (Jackson). Subs not used: MacDonald, Kelly

Referee: Craig Thompson.