That fine day in May still shines bright
Virtual matchday goes down a treat
Memories can often gradually grow faint and disappear.
But what became apparent early on Sunday morning was that St Johnstone’s Scottish Cup victory of 2014 will never lose a grain of significance to forevergrateful supporters.
The club’s virtual matchday experience on the six-year anniversary emphasised more than ever what the achievement meant to the small club with lofty ambitions.
It did not matter whether this was six days, months or, as was the case, years on from the historic May 17 triumph against Dundee United at Celtic Park. The reaction would be the same.
Saints went all out amid the coronavirus outbreak to offer fans a unique throwback to the greatest day in the club’s history.
The full 90-minute replay, the famous goals from Steven Anderson and Steven MacLean obviously included, was aired out on the club’s Saints TV platform.
But even before kick-off early morning interviews with cupwinning heroes brought smiles to living rooms across Perth and beyond.
Frazer Wright, captain Dave Mackay, MacLean, Chris Millar, Brian Easton, Alan Mannus and Lee Croft all took to the camera to relive a momentous time in their careers.
Cup-winning skipper Mackay remembered being a tad premature with his hoisting of the trophy upon receiving it.
“When I watch it back I’ve lifted the trophy before the guy is off the podium,” he laughed. “We’re celebrating and he doesn’t know what to do.
“I think it was just over excitement of not being in that situation before. You just want to start the celebrations as quickly as you can.
“You get in the dressing room and it’s going crazy. There are drinks flying everywhere.”
Drinks, pies, scarves and whatever in reaching distance were certainly flying in the blue and white end of Celtic Park six years back when MacLean turned home Saints’ second of the afternoon to wrap up the win.
The much-loved striker whipped his top off in celebration and, speaking on Sunday at the virtual matchday, recalled the moments immediately after his goal as a complete blur.
“When I scored, I can’t actually remember anything for 30 seconds,” MacLean reminisced. “I watch it back and think: ‘What am I doing?’
“It probably sunk in as I was walking back to the halfway line. It dawned on me what had happened and how late in the game it was. It’s a great feeling and I was probably quite emotional walking back, thinking that this is it and we’ve won the Scottish Cup.”
He went on to recall the dressing room scenes after fulltime: “We were singing, dancing about. Apart from Alan Mannus - he had his protein shake!
“The rest of us were just getting absolutely mad with it.”
Mannus played a huge part in the Scottish Cup journey and keeping a clean sheet in the final was certainly a special moment.
Saints fans again had to endure a couple of hairy moments Ryan Dow and Nadir Ciftci both struck the woodwork for Dundee United - when watching the replay over the weekend.
“People can call it luck if they want, but it was just our day,” Mannus smiled on Sunday.
Thousands from Perth and around the globe tuned in for the virtual matchday experience, which included far more than player interviews and a re-run of the game itself.
More than 600 pies were preordered by fans from Yorkes to enjoy during the game, while around 3000 tickets for the 50/50 half-time draw were sold.
There was also a very poignant tribute to those associated with Saints who sadly passed away during the course of this season, read out by club chaplain David Barrie.
Saints’ media and communications officer Gary Henderson was widely praised for the part he played in pulling together the day of memories.
But he was quick to turn the spotlight on others at the club - and the fans for tuning in and buying into the idea.
“The response from the supporters to our virtual matchday was absolutely incredible,” Henderson told the Perthshire Advertiser.
“It was great to see so many supporters get involved and support the club by purchasing 50/50 half-time draw tickets and pies for the match.
“Hopefully it’s given the fans a bit of a lift during these difficult times. We are all missing our football fix at the moment.
“And that has been clear by the amount of people tuning in to Saints TV. At 3pm the site even temporarily crashed for some people due to the high volume of traffic online.
“There was a lot of work behind the scenes from staff to make this virtual matchday possible.
“And it wouldn’t have happened without great teamwork from all at the club.
“After the success of this one - and with no games to look forward to for the foreseeable future - we’re already thinking about our next virtual matchday.”
The response from supporters to our virtual matchday was incredible... we’re thinking about our next one