Melamed in the mood for final redemption
GUY MELAMED’S first and only cup final brought the best goal of his career and the worst day of his life. Now the 28-year-old St Johnstone forward is determined to make amends when he steps out against Livingston on Sunday.
Melamed enjoyed the perfect warm-up for the climax of the Betfred Cup at the weekend by netting twice — a beauty with his weaker left foot and a second-half penalty — in a 3-0 stroll over Motherwell at Fir Park that also saw captain Jason Kerr get on the scoresheet.
In terms of staking a claim for a starting place at Hampden, the Israeli could hardly have done more and hopes the meeting with Livvy will be different in all manner of ways from his outing with Maccabi Netanya against a Bnei Yehuda side including Celtic’s Ismaila Soro in the Israel State Cup final two years ago.
Melamed scored an early scorcher from 20 yards for his side and was substituted with 18 minutes to play, but Bnei Yehuda snatched an equaliser near the end and went on to win the trophy in a penalty shoot-out.
The absence of fans alone will make this latest big occasion considerably different, but Melamed insists his main focus is on making sure the result does not bring fresh heartache.
‘That was an amazing day and an amazing atmosphere,’ he recalled. ‘I think there were around 40,000 people watching.
‘It will be a lot different in an empty stadium and I believe it won’t feel like a real cup final, but we will take it as seriously as we can and then, hopefully, win and celebrate with the fans at the end of the season or whenever lockdown ends.
‘I scored the best goal of my career in that final two years ago, but we lost on penalties. It is tragic to lose like that.
‘I had the best feeling of my life and then the worst feeling of my life. It was a very emotional game.
‘I hope it will not be like this in the final here in Scotland.
‘The experience of playing in a final before will definitely help me. I like to feel the pressure. If you have pressure on you, it means you are in a good place.
‘We want to make history. I’ll be happy to score in the cup final and bring some pride to the club.’
Melamed was left on the bench for the 3-0 semi-final win over Hibs and has taken time to settle into life in Scotland, but four goals in his last six games have made him an important member of Callum Davidson’s squad.
Just 19 minutes in, after Shaun Rooney had been invited to gallop into enemy territory, Melamed took a pass and curled a beautiful effort into keeper Liam Kelly’s top corner from 20 yards.
‘I have scored some goals with my weaker foot but never in the top corner like that,’ he smiled. ‘I’m happy that the training has paid off and I can do it in a game.’
Kerr made it 2-0 just before the break with a low drive after Saints had hit the post twice — with linesman Colin McAlpine failing to spot Rooney in an offside position — and Melamed scored the third from the spot just after the break.
Saints fans have already made a banner for Melamed, which reads ‘Everybody wants to be that Guy’, and the striker admits it is a matter of some regret that he has not been able to play in front of crowds since arriving in the SPFL last October.
‘It’s a great banner. I was laughing a lot when I saw it,’ he said. ‘I haven’t played in front of our fans yet, but I can feel their support when I meet people in the street or from the taxi drivers.
‘I would love to feel the real atmosphere of matches in Scotland because I know there is a lot of passion for football here.
‘There’s nothing we can do about it in Covid times and we just have to try to make the supporters happy watching in their houses.’
Sunday represents the perfect opportunity.