Davidson vows to toast cup win with f Martindale wants to turn final pain into Livi’s gain
A TAKEAWAY and a glass of champagne was how Callum Davidson toasted St Johnstone’s
Betfred Cup victory over Livingston on Sunday.
The celebrations were subdued for Saints, but that suited the Perth club as they trained yesterday ahead of tomorrow night’s trip to Hamilton Accies.
“It wasn’t the traditional cup celebration, that’s for sure,” Davidson said, beaming. “I drove home, had a takeaway with the family and a glass of champagne.
“I know the fans want to celebrate with us when it’s allowed and it’s safe for everyone to enjoy the occasion. The club definitely wants to organise something so everyone can mark this achievement.
“We had never won this cup in 137 years or whatever it is so we need to celebrate properly. It is huge, especially given where this club has come from. But it is important we do it right.
“I have had lovely messages of congratulations from people in the game. I’m really appreciative of them taking the time to do that. It means a lot and it hits home what we have achieved here. “I’m not a social media type but I was told there were plenty good luck messages from former Saints players. That was a nice touch.” Davidson also confirmed that he only named eight substitutes on his bench in order for his namesake Murray to receive a cup winners’ medal, despite missing the Hampden clash through injury.
He continued: “It was an easy decision to list only eight substitutes because that’s the size of our squad. They were picked on the basis of who could come on and impact the game.
“If I had felt a young player could do that he’d have been on the bench but it has been tough for them not having games.
“Murray deserved his medal. He has been a massive part of this club over the years and played a huge role in getting us to the final.
DAVID Martindale insists he will use the pain of Livingston’s heartbreaking Betfred Cup defeat as “fuel” in the club’s push for Europe.
The Lions boss has a massive job on his hands to lift his crestfallen players following Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone, but does not have much time ahead of the visit of Rangers on Wednesday night.
However, after the Hampden loss left the West Lothian outfit without a win in their last four matches, Martindale admits they need a turnaround in fortunes - and quick - as they seek to cement their top-six place.
The Almondvale men sit fifth and, five points ahead of Dundee United in seventh and seven points ahead of Saints, need just one more win from their remaining four games before the split to seal a top-six finish.
He said: “It’s done. I’ll not dwell on this, I’ll use it as fuel for Wednesday night and going forward.
“I want to secure top-six as early as possible. Potentially this could have been playing on the players’ psyche in the league games previously.
“So, hopefully that is the case, because there’s nothing we can do about it now.
“And we need to find better form very quickly going into Wednesday night’s game to secure top-six. [Europe] has got to be the aim now, surely.”
Martindale has also defended his decision to play skipper Marvin Bartley at left midfield in a bid to counteract the attacking threat of Shaun Rooney.
Rooney proved the matchwinner but, with the goal coming from a corner, the Livi manager insists the tactical move was not pivotal in the defeat.
He added: “That’s one of St Johnstone’s strongest points, they hit the diagonal from [Jamie] McCart, or sometimes [Callum] Booth or [Scott] Tanser, onto Rooney.
“And since big Ciaron [Brown] returned to Cardiff we’ve probably been a bit light in that area.
“On another day, if Jackson [Longridge] had been fit I could have started him at left-back and Julien [Serrano] could have started one up because he’s quite competitive in the air.
“But if you strip the game back, it doesn’t matter who was playing left midfield because we lost a goal from a set-play, and that’s obviously outwith open play.
“So, it doesn’t really matter what the formation was or who played where at what time.
“I don’t think the game was lost in the wide area, I don’t think the game was lost in the middle of the park – the game was lost at a set-play and defending your box.”
I want to secure top-six as early as possible. Potentially this could have been playing on the players’ psyche
REFEREE Pascal Gauzere has admitted to making mistakes in England’s 40-24 Guinness Six Nations defeat by Wales on Saturday.
Gauzere has spoken to World Rugby’s head of match officials Joel Jutge about “two unfortunate events” as Eddie Jones’ team saw their title defence come to an end at the Principality Stadium.
The French official awarded Wales two controversial tries in the first half that enabled the hosts to power into a commanding 17-6 lead.
For Josh Adams’ opener, Gauzere told England captain Owen Farrell to speak to his team over their discipline and then quickly restarted play, allowing Dan Biggar to hoist the scoring crossfield kick.
And the second try on the half-hour mark was also highly dubious as Louis Rees-Zammit appeared to knock on during the build-up.
“I believe transparent one has to and not be let things drag on and say what one thinks,” Jutge told Midi Olympique.
“There were two unfortunate events during the match which were tough cases to handle. Pascal Gauzere recognised as such when he spoke to me on the phone.
“With regard to the second try, I think there is a tendency to refer to the TMO too often when one can make the call oneself on the pitch and stick with it, which if Pascal had whistled for a knock-on there would have meant no appeal by the TMO to review it.
“Pascal was the first to admit to this when he re-watched the match on Sunday. When one commits an error one should be transparent about it. Despite this he is still an excellent international referee.”
England have chosen not to submit a formal complaint to World Rugby over the two tries and were ultimately well beaten despite the blunders, the first of which was described by their former captain Martin Johnson as “absolutely appalling”.