Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Sidibeh found striker’s instinct after swapping goalie gloves for goals
ADAMA Sidibeh has spectacularly demonstrated that he possesses the killer instinct in front of goal that’s been so sorely lacking from St Johnstone’s season.
His overhead kick against Dundee saw Sidibeh transfer lethal skills, that had been impressing team-mates and coaching staff for weeks in training, to the thick of Premiership battle.
Craig Levein will now hope it’s a sign he can go some way towards replicating his ridiculous scoring statistics from English non-league football in the Scottish Premiership.
Yet, if he is a naturalborn finisher, then Sidibeh did a sterling job of hiding it for so long.
For the Gambian revealed that only after giving up a promising goalkeeping career at the age of 16 did this innate talent become obvious.
Sidibeh, 25, explained: “I started playing football when I was young in Africa, playing for Soccer Boys.
“I was a goalkeeper and then one day I went up front, started scoring goals and that made me change my position.
“Things went well, I moved to a team in the First Division (Marimoo) as a striker and since then I have always played there.
“Everyone told me I had to stay up front because of the number of goals I was scoring. So that was the best decision!”
The late developer could turn out to be the saviour of St Johnstone’s season.
Despite missing large chunks of the campaign out injured, Nicky Clark is the club’s top league scorer on six goals.
Clark is clearly the best experienced foil for Sidibeh’s raw game and his fitness has been nursed along lately to ensure he’s in prime shape to play every game of the run-in.
Flashes of a productive partnership are desperately required as Saints’ paltry return of 22 goals from 31 league games is the second worst in the division and considerably poorer than other bottom-six rivals.
Levein certainly didn’t turn to a tried-and-trusted source of top-flight goals when seeking a January window striker signing.
Sidibeh was snapped up from Warrington Rylands in England’s Northern Premier League.
He was scoreless in three starts and four substitute appearances before that acrobatic effort in Saturday’s 2-1 Tayside derby loss.
Sidibeh said: “I had been dreaming about my first goal for St Johnstone so, when it happened, it was a great and happy moment.
“It was nice to score one – and especially in front of my family, too.
“My confidence is back again, so now I’ll hopefully keep banging them in.”
Saints will hope to shrug off the form of six defeats in eight matches when away to Hibernian on Saturday.
Flirting with relegation play-off trouble has become familiar in three tough campaigns for the club but, for Sidibeh, Perth is a great platform for advancing his career.
He has ambitions of playing for Gambia and the striker, whose father is originally from Preston, said: “My dream now is to represent the national team and I hope, by moving to St Johnstone, I can do that.
“There has been interest from back home. I have spoken to journalists who have called me up to ask about the move. They have told me I better not naturalise for anyone else!”