Losing to set-piece is bitter blow for Wright

ST JOHNSTONE manager Tommy Wright was left nursing a mixture of pride and frustration after his side pushed to within nine minutes of earning a Scottish Cup quarter-final replay at Parkhead. The Perth outfit entered this last-eight showdown showing a bleak aggregate scoreline of 30-0 from their previous nine games against Celtic. While their half of that scoreline remains blank, match No 10 was far from one-sided as Wright’s men scrapped all the way and forced Fraser Forster into a couple of decent saves. Hope of a second crack was undone in the 81st minute, however, after Jamie McCart was booked for wiping out James Forrest near the touchline. Ryan Christie delivered the resulting free-kick, with Christopher Jullien insisting it had gone straight in despite his attempts to get a near-post touch. Losing out to a set-piece was a bitter blow for Wright after the huge energy invested in trying to halt Celtic’s 34-game winning streak in domestic cup competitions. ‘I thought the performance was better than good,’ said the Northern Irishman, who matched up his visitors in a 3-5-2 shape. ‘We pushed Celtic all the way and we should have done enough to get a draw. But we haven’t defended a set-play and that’s cost us in the end. ‘I’m extremely proud of their performance but ultimately we are out of the cup because we didn’t defend a set-play. ‘We thought we had weathered the storm in the second half when Celtic started it better than us. But we had chances of our own, good opportunities, and were a real attacking threat throughout the game. ‘We knew we would have to work hard, but we have gone toe-to-toe with the best team in the country for a long time and just fallen short. ‘Both goalkeepers were excellent in difficult conditions. Zander (Clark) will be disappointed for the goal, because there is not really a lot he can do. At the end of the day, it’s a terrible way to go out of a competition.’ Asked if he felt a replay had been within their grasp, Wright (left) added: ‘I think the performance merited it. All right, Celtic had more chances. ‘But we have worked their goalkeeper a lot and had numerous corners. We must have been doing something right in terms of getting forward.’ Out of contract at the end of the season, Drey Wright impressed as a right wingback for Saints. The 24-year-old’s pace and power ensured a difficult afternoon for Greg Taylor. ‘Drey got a lot of control on the right side and he is quite adaptable,’ added Wright. ‘He can play in a three, as a wing-back and we have even thought of playing him at right-back at times. ‘I’m pleased for him but there were good performances throughout the team. You look at Ali McCann again, Matt Butcher did well. The front pair worked their socks off. ‘It was so close. Stevie May is probably half a yard away from nicking the ball around the goalkeeper where we could have taken the lead.’