Inverness ‘buzzing’ and relishing final tilt
Kirk Broadfoot says Inverness will need to dig deeper than ever to defy
depleted resources and pinch St Johnstone’s Premiership place.
The veteran defender was the penalty shoot-out hero on Friday with the winning kick for Billy Dodds’ side against Arbroath after 210 scoreless minutes over two legs.
Inverness clung on with nine men following red cards for Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy.
The serious injury suffered by Shane Sutherland further reduces options for a squad already stripped of Tom Walsh and Roddy Mcgregor.
Emotional boss Dodds hailed their guts and determination, and Broadfoot said: “We will need all that now against St Johnstone.
“We’ve lost Shane, a huge player for us, and we’ve got the suspensions. Hopefully, we can get Danny back through an appeal. But we’re low on players as it is.
“So we’ve nothing to lose. It’s amazing to get there and, hopefully, we can take the next step.
“We’re buzzing to be in the final. Who knows what can happen now we’re there?
“The pressure is on St Johnstone – just like last year when I was at Kilmarnock and it was on us.”
Broadfoot, 37, was relegated with Killie 12 months ago when Dundee won both legs of the final.
He was persuaded to temporarily move north and become defensive linchpin of the Inverness promotion bid by Dodds.
“The manager has been great,” said Broadfoot. “He’s a good coach, but also a good person who looks after the boys. He’s straight down the line, which players like. We had a tough spell – 11 games without a win – but he came through it. He’s done some job.
“Considering where we were last season, it’s great credit to him, his staff and the players.”
For Arbroath, the twist in the fairytale was that they failed to deliver when everything was in their favour – after relishing the underdog tag for so long.
Inverness were on the ropes at the end of normal and extra time, but Dick Campbell’s brave part-timers couldn’t find a goal while well on top.
Then Gayfield legend Bobby Linn’s penalty was kept out by a Mark Ridgers save and Broadfoot buried his spot-kick.
Broadfoot revealed: “We’d been practising all week, but never even spoke about who was going to take them.
“I scored a couple, though, so felt confident enough. I changed where I was going to go because I saw that Derek Gaston was diving and, sometimes, they stand for the odd one.
“But I decided just to crack it down the middle. It was a great feeling, I’ll rememberitforalongtime.
“That’s the first penalty I’ve hit since the League Cup with Kilmarnock against St Mirren back in July 2018. And I missed that one!”