Ican’tcap thatcup semiwin atIbrox
GORDON BANNERMAN
PAUL PATON is proud of his four Northern Ireland caps but reckons a Scottish Cup semi-final win at Ibrox was the high point of his career.
The St Johnstone midfielder savoured every minute of the 3-1 win over Rangers in his first season with a Dundee United side that went on to lose to their Perth rivals in the 2014 final.
And ahead of Saints’ trip to Ibrox today, he said: “It’s a big stage, we are coming up to Christmas and there will be 50,000 there.
“We should be going under no pressure and looking forward to it. But it is only good to go to these places when you come away with a good result.
“I have a mixed record at Ibrox. But winning the cup semi-final there against Rangers is one of my best memories. It was probably the best day of my career.
“I got man of the match that day and I remember Nadir Ciftci celebrating before he even put the ball in the net for the third.”
Paton insists Saints will dust themselves down from a bruising 3-0 midweek loss to Aberdeen.
He added: “What better place than Ibrox to go and put in a performance?
“I have no doubt we’ll get a reaction from the team. Motivation takes care of itself for a game like this. Adrenalin will be pumping, the energy will be there.”