Joe lays it on the line to mate
Joe Shaughnessy has pledged to take care of Zander Clark himself should he spot the St Johnstone goalkeeper galloping up the park on a mission in today’s Scottish Cup semi-final.
Clark was the Perth club’s hero in the win against Rangers at Ibrox that secured them their place in the last four.
He went up for a corner and powered in a header which Chris Kane touched home for a dramatic late equaliser.
Then, when the game went to a penalty shoot- out he came up with crucial saves to help secure victory.
Yet, while that delighted Shaughnessy, a friend from the four years the pair spent together at Mcdiarmid Park, he is determined he won’t repeat the trick against St Mirren today.
“I was very happy for Zander but if he comes forward against us I’ll be on his back!” said the Irishman with a laugh.
“I actually think he should have scored in their quarter-final.
“He wandered up into the middle of the box and somehow everyone has missed him.
“He stands out like a sore thumb but he stood there. Liam Craig – another pal from my time in Perth – put the corner on his head and the rest is history. “Listen, he was good all game. “He made some big saves and when you saw them you did get the feeling that it might be their day.
“As I say, I’ve been good friends with Zander and Liam both, and I stay in touch throughout the season. I haven’t spoken to them this week but after the game we’ll have a chat.”
Shaughnessy, scorer of St Mirren’s dramatic equaliser in their quarter-final
against Kilmarnock that laid the platform for their penalty shoot- out win, was also pleased for St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson.
“Cal was Tommy Wright’s assistant when I was at the club and he was always brilliant,” he said.
“You could tell he knew what he was doing and he was very smart. He took a lot of the training sessions and they were always really good.
“Even talking to him about football off the pitch, some of the conversations I had with him you could tell he knew his stuff and you always listened when he gave you his opinion on whatever it was, whether it was defensively or what you could do to improve.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Cal has had such a good first season as a manager and is now in the running for the annual awards.
“Was he a good cop compared to
Tommy back then? Maybe at times he’d have played the good cop side but they worked well together and I’m sure he will have learned a lot from Tommy.”
While St Johnstone’s League Cup triumph this season ensures they will go into today’s tie as favourites, Shaughnessy argues it is a tough one to call.
“I think the teams are very closely matched,” he said.
“In the 32 league games before the split we were only separated by two goals.
“They have hit a really good bit of form – that is probably the difference. They have had a bit more consistency than we have.
“We got to the semif i n a l s of the League
Cup this year, the difference is we didn’t perform how we wanted to perform.
“We have a lot of young players in the squad for whom that was the first taste of semi-final football and we didn’t give a good account of ourselves.
“It hurt and the hope would we be that we can use that memory as a motivation we do ourselves justice this time round.
“Wi t h no Celtic or Rangers in the semis, everyone has a bigger chance this year than would normally be the case.
“All four clubs will be thinking the same thing. This is a chance to put their name on the trophy.”
Zander Clark celebrates his assist against Rangers