ST JOHNSTONE have enjoyed a fair bit of success in cup finals recently. You might have read about it. And perhaps that’s why Michael O’Halloran is viewing tomorrow night’s do-or-die Europa Conference League qualifier against LASK as a one-off showpiece.
Just 90 minutes lie between Saints and a potential group stage berth for UEFA’s latest continental competition, and Callum Davidson’s men are feeling confident after securing a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Austria.
After seeing off Livingston in the final of the League Cup, defeating Hibs in last season’s Scottish Cup and winning high-profile semi-finals at the national stadium, this St Johnstone team have repeatedly demonstrated their knack for turning up when it matters most.
It’s this never-say-die attitude that gives O’Halloran confidence heading into tomorrow’s clash at McDiarmid Park – with the winger adding that his side fear no one after the remarkable success of the last 12 months.
“The cup final experience helps,” O’Halloran admitted. “We have such a good blend of experience and the young boys have that bit of invincibility in them where they just go out and play.
“People say we can be a horrible side to play against but we have some really good footballers as well.
“The more games we play in Europe then it stands us all in good stead.
“It was a good result [in the first leg] and the tie is wide open. It’s a one-off game and I expect both teams to have a go.
“We are focused on ourselves but we know they are a threat.
“They were very direct in the first game but we will work on a few things and the gaffer will have us ready for Thursday.”
There aren’t too many people that would take pride in being described as “horrible” – as LASK boss Dominik Thalhammer dubbed the Perth side after the first leg – but O’Halloran sees the label as a vindication of Davidson’s approach and methods.
“We take it as a compliment as it means we are doing something right,” the winger said of his latest badge of honour. “We don’t exactly want to be a nice side to play against.
“He said we were horrible and that’s his opinion, we have shown we can do the dirty side of the game but we can also play good football.”
O’Halloran added that the feeling of disappointment that followed in the aftermath of Saints’ 1-1 draw in Austria is proof of just how far they’ve come since Davidson pitched up in Perth – and no one, he insists, is more representative of the progress made than centre-forward Chris Kane.
“We watched a bit of them before the game but I didn’t expect them to be so direct, especially in the first half,” he explained. “You don’t get any mediocre teams in Europe, they had a few really good players.
“We were a bit disappointed over there not to come away with the victory. That shows how far we have come as we go away in Europe expecting to get a result.
“At home we want to be on the front foot and in the ascendancy. It’s good we have pace in the team but we have plenty of strengths.
“If you look at the team, last week Kano was excellent and he led the line as well as getting a goal. In Europe his hold up-play and that ability to buy you fouls in good areas is a real bonus for us.
“He has become a real goal threat, all good strikers score most of their goals in the six-yard box and he is getting himself in the right areas.
“It was a great ball in for his goal last week, but Kano was in the poacher’s position to take advantage of it.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here