A replay earned – Wright

Tommy Wright thought St Johnstone were deserving of a Scottish Cup replay against Celtic – and few could disagree.

The Perth manager was proud as punch with his side’s performance in the 1-0 defeat but, understandably, massively disappointed to exit the competition.

He said:“I thought the performance was better than good. We pushed Celtic all the way and we should have done enough to get a draw.

“But we haven’t defended a set play and that has cost us in the end.

“I’m extremely proud of their performance but ultimately we are out of the cup because we didn’t defend a set play. We thought we had weathered the storm in the second half when Celtic started it better than us.

“But we had chances of our own, good opportunities and were a real attacking threat throughout the game.

“We knew we would have to work hard, but we have gone toe-to-toe with the best team in the country for a long time and just fallen short.

“Both goalkeepers were excellent in difficult conditions. Zander will be disappointed for the goal, because there is not really a lot he can do.

“At the end of the day, it is a terrible way to go out of a competition.”

Wright was impressed with the performance of flying winger Drey Wright, who contributed greatly at both ends of the park.

“Drey got a lot of control on the right side and he is quite adaptable,”the Saints boss said.

“He can play in a three, as a wingback and we have even thought of playing him at right-back at times.

“Celtic caused us a lot of problems down that side in the 3-0 game. But Drey is quick and was able to deal with Taylor or Hayes when he came on.

“I’m pleased for him but there were good performances throughout the team. You look at Ali McCann again, Butcher did well.

“There were a lot of good performances and that is continuing now on a consistent level.”