Loan move was match made in heaven James Dunne looks back on his time with Saints and that cup win
THE STORY SO FAR
LAST 16: St Johnstone 2 Clyde 0, Saturday, April 17
A favourable draw for Saints against a League One side who were battling with a hectic fixture schedule following their return to competitive action. This was to be Clyde’s EIGHTH match of the month.
And it showed. Perth boss Callum Davidson sent his side out with real energy and starved the visitors of any time on the ball.
Israeli striker Guy Melamed was back among the goals to tuck home from close range on six minutes. Then Michael O’Halloran doubled the advantage just after the 20-minute mark.
It should have been more before the break but, credit to Clyde, they did not throw in the towel and did have a couple of late chances to grab a consolation.
ROUND THREE: Dundee 0 St Johnstone 1, Saturday, April 3
Pushed back following a pause in the competition due to the coronavirus, Saints eventually got their Scottish Cup campaign underway at Dens Park at the beginning of April.
Much of the pre-match build-up had centred around the words of Dundee midfielder Charlie Adam who made clear he did not feel the game was a derby. Far from it.
After the game, which Saints won 1-0 thanks to
Guy Melamed’s neat first-half finish, defender Liam Gordon noted:“They should maybe start to look at it as a derby. That’s the last five times we’ve beaten them.”
Saints had produced a solid defensive display but there was to be a late scare when goalkeeper Zander Clark wiped out Danny Mullen inside the box.
The towering goalkeeper made amends shortly after, however, to keep out Adam’s penalty and ensure that the Perth men advanced to the last 16 of the tournament.
QUARTER-FINAL: Rangers 1 St Johnstone 1 Sunday, April 25
Where exactly do you start with this game?
Saints’Scottish Cup journey looked to be over when defender James Tavernier nodded Rangers ahead deep into extra-time following a 90 minutes that failed to produce a goal.
There was one final throw of the dice, though. With 122 minutes on the Ibrox clock, goalkeeper Zander Clark ventured forward for a corner to make a nuisance of himself in the box.
Incredibly he was unmarked, six yards out and managed to head the ball down for Chris Kane to nudge in the most dramatic of late levellers. Despite Kane being the man to score, nobody was stopping Clark from running away daft in celebration.
The Perth number one managed to compose himself to save two penalties in the shootout. Liam Craig, Callum Booth, Jason Kerr and Ali McCann all scored for Saints and the cup double remained well and truly on.
He was brought in to plug the gap following Murray Davidson’s injury.
Four months later James Dunne was starring in St Johnstone’s 2014 Scottish Cup-winning triumph against Dundee United.
The centre midfielder could not have dreamt of a more positive loan experience in Perth.
Now, seven years on, Saints are on the brink of booking another spot in the final and Dunne would love if the club went all the way again - especially for Davidson.
“I didn’t get to know Murray that well because he was away getting treatment most of the time,” Dunne said.
“But you obviously feel for someone when they’re in that situation and it was made even worse when he missed the Betfred Cup win earlier this season.
“That was terrible luck and I’d love them to get to the final so he’s got a chance of playing.
“It shows how crazy football can be at times, I played with St Johnstone for four months and left with a Scottish Cup medal.
“Murray has been there for over 10 years and has missed both of the cup wins.
“It’s been a brutal run of luck for him, he’s a good player and if anyone deserves a bit of luck it’s him.
“Hopefully they can get to the final this season, he can play and they win another trophy.”
Dunne, currently with Barnet, still remembers the scenes of celebration in the aftermath of Saints’ 2014 cup win.
“It was a massive achievement for us and the celebrations after it were mad,” he explained.
“The club hadn’t done it before so everyone was packed into the city centre and were partying for days.
“I am quite superstitious and the whole May 17 thing with Stevie May’s shirt had me convinced beforehand that we’d win it.”
Dunne continued: “I still look at the team’s scores and feel an affiliation with the club because it was the happiest time of my career.
“It was some of the best I played football-wise and the dressing-room was one of the best I’ve been in.
“I probably would have signed again
but it was just the wrong time.
“My wife and I had just lost a baby so we wanted to go back south to be closer to our family.
“The team spirit there was fantastic and it seems to carry on regardless of who is there.
“The banter was incredible, every day the dressing-room was buzzing with people winding each other up.
“I keep in touch with a few of the lads from our team, we have a chat now and again - especially on social media.”
Some of those former team-mates continue to shine for the Perth club on a weekly basis.
“I saw bits of the Rangers game and was buzzing for the St Johnstone players, it was a fantastic way to win it,” Dunne said.
“I was especially pleased for Zander because you don’t see keepers do that very often and it’s a goal people will talk about for years to come. And then for him to save a couple of penalties was fantastic.
“A few of the lads I played with are still there, David Wotherspoon, Stevie May, Michael O’Halloran - and some of the younger ones like Zander and Chris Kane were signed by that time.
“Obviously Callum Davidson was Tommy’s number two so I’m delighted to see him do well.
“He’s a very good coach and when he was working with Tommy they bounced off each other.
“Tommy would fly off the rails at us if we were not playing well but Callum would calm it all down.
“They worked well together and I’m not surprised he brought Steven MacLean in with him because he’s someone who knows the club inside out. He was brilliant in the dressing-room, he has great craic and that appointment makes a lot of sense.”