Saints masks fly off shelves

The first batch of St Johnstone crested coronavirus face masks sold out in less than 24 hours when made available last week.

Supporters wasted little time in purchasing the piece of personal protective equipment from the club’s online shop, with more than 200 already shifted.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has hinted that the wearing of face coverings in Scotland could soon become mandatory in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Saints have been inundated with messages from fans about the product and the second batch is expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

Beverley Mayer, St Johnstone’s supporter liaison officer, said:“We are in conversation with our suppliers for various things and had asked about the masks.

“We asked for a few prototypes, got some proofs sent through and went with it. We thought the uptake would be good.

“But we put them on sale at 9.30pm on Wednesday night and they had sold out by the Thursday morning.

“We sold more than 200 and are now waiting on the next batch coming in. We’ve been delighted with the uptake of them.

“There have been a lot of enquiries and when the next batch is in we’ll put them on sale straight away.”

Beverley added:“We ourselves are going to have a COVID-19 capsule for an archives day, so people can be reminded of what happened in 2020.

“One of the masks will be going in there.”

While football’s return is edging closer, Saints have been keen to keep supporters engaged online and held a virtual Scottish Cup final matchday last month.

Now, on June 21, the Perth club will be hosting another and this time, will take fans back to the Europa League victory against FC Luzern.

“The reaction to the virtual matchday last month was fantastic and we had some really good fan engagement,”Beverley said.

“We announced over the weekend that we will be hosting another one for Father’s Day.

“There will again be a 50/50 draw and we have three prizes this time - a cash prize, a pair of Murray Davidson’s boots and a signed football.

“There’s a couple of things in the pipeline with a view to making this virtual matchday even bigger and better this Sunday.

“It should be a good match as well.” Interviews with players who starred on the night will be shared on social media before the game is replayed in all its glory.

50/50 tickets for the virtual match can be purchased at www. saintsonlineshop.co.uk