SAINTS SHOCKED BY ACCIES
Alnwick says sorry for Saints’loss to bottom side Accies
Buddies apologise for Hamilton defeat
St Mirren goalkeeper Jak Alnwick has apologised for the team’s performance in their 2-1 defeat against Hamilton Accies.
There were four changes for Jim Goodwin’s men ahead of Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone but the shot stopper was not willing to make that an excuse.
And Alnwick revealed that he left his teammates in no doubt about what he thought at full time.
He told Express Sport: “It was shocking. “I apologise to the fans who have obviously paid money to watch it.
“It was not good enough on every level. “You could see Hamilton were playing for something but so were we.
“I don’t know if some of the lads had an eye on next week but he standards need to be high no matter where you are.
‘Whether it’s the last game of the season, you’ve already got seventh or whatever it is, you’ve got to keep your standards high.
“We wanted a good performance going into Sunday.
“There are lads who had an opportunity to stake a claim next week.
“We were just too far off it all over the pitch.
“Hamilton looked like they wanted it more, which we’ve never said this season.”
Looking ahead to next weekend’s Scottish Cup clash, Alnwick is desperate to see his side put in a better performance than they did the last time they were at the national stadium.
That was at the same stage of the League Cup earlier this season, when they narrowly lost out 1-0 against Livingston, with Scott Robinson netting an early goal proving to be the winner.
Saints face the eventual winners of the League Cup, St Johnstone, and Alnwick hopes that previous defeat at Hampden can be used as a basis for the opposite result this time around.
He said: “Livingston are such a frustrating team to play against.
“Every set piece takes two minutes to set up and the ball is never in play and never on the floor.
“Credit to them, they’ve got a style of play and got themselves into the top six and into a final. It was a frustrating one
“We didn’t impose ourselves on the game and there’s always regrets when you lose a semi-final.
“But we’ve got a group of lads who have done well to get us back there again.
“It’s 40-odd years since it’s happened in the club’s history and it is down to us, the staff and players to make our mark.
“Obviously we will learn something from the last time and hopefully we can get the win against a good side.
“We’ve got a good week leading up to it and I’ve got no doubt that the character of the lads will come into play.”