A performance like no other Saints shot-stopper defies the odds to help seal win on Tayside
Booth backs Zander for Scots call after heroics
DUNDEE UTD.............................0 ST JOHNSTONE.........................1
A quick scope of the d i c t i o n a ry and a description of the word unbeatable offers the following: ‘ Impossible to defeat’.
Any publisher searching for the perfect piece of pictorial evidence to back up the above definition in future updated versions may as well plant a mugshot of St Johnstone’s Zander Clark slap bang in the middle of the page.
The big bearded 29-year-old selected Saturday afternoon’s tussle of Tayside at Tannadice to produce one of the finest displays of goalkeeping you are likely to see in a very long time.
He dived to the left, dived to the right and come full- time smiled in pure delight.
“Scotland’s number one” was echoing around the stadium from the large and vocal travelling support and with every passing week it is hard to argue against it being factually correct.
Clark is a big-game player and it would be quite remarkable if he wasn’t recalled to the national team for the upcoming round of World Cup qualifiers.
Time and time again he delivers – from League Cup and Scottish Cup finals to special European nights away at Galatasaray and LASK Linz.
This latest performance topped the lot.
Questions were being raised whether this was actually the
Scottish Premiership
stewards to celebrate the moment with players before quickly getting his marching orders.
Tam Courts’ side would, as expected, look to retaliate as the game progressed but were met with the strongest of resistance from Clark whose flying structure would be the subject of Dundee United nightmares - particularly for Ryan Edwards - on the eve of Hallowe’en.
The towering defender thought he had found a first-half leveller after nodding Dylan
Levitt’s corner goalwards but the Perth No.1 stuck out his huge left arm to divert over the crossbar.
A near carbon-copy arrived just shy of the hour mark as the same home pair linked up in search of the equaliser. The end result was the same. Edwards had a look of astonishment on his face when Clark again touched behind for a corner.
Who was next up? Substitute Peter Pawlett fancied his chances with a cushioned header back across goal from Kieran Freeman’s chipped cross.
Again it looked certain the ball was about to nestle in the corner but what a silly assumption that was. Clark reversed his footing and stuck out a left lever, then the follow-up was swiped high.
The scintillating Saints shot-stopper was far from done and appeared keen to make this highlights reel one that will never be forgotten when pulling off a special double save with four minutes remaining.
Pawlett was again the man in disbelief, this time after Clark had thrown himself down quickly to save a low side-footed attempt from just eight yards out. The ball broke for striker Nicky Clark but guess what? His header was also kept out.
The Tangerines forward remained determined but, simply put, there was no way through. His late close-range effort was superbly blocked by a goalkeeper who was quickly set upon by gleeful team-mates when the full-time whistle you need someone like him behind you to pull off six or seven top class saves.”
Booth and the Perth rearguard also deserved praise for how they battled to hold onto the 1-0 victory. Midfielder Ali Crawford’s delicious first-half finish proved to be the winner.
“We pressed well for the goal,” Booth said. “I was thinking Ali was going to slide it to Chris Kane but it was a great finish.
“That is what he did when at Hamilton and we know he is capable of scoring a lot of goals from outside the box.
“First half I thought we played well and the gameplan was working perfectly. “But we didn’t really have the same composure in the second half or get a foothold in the game.
“To be fair to Dundee United they played well and penned us in.
“We were hanging on at the end but those are the ones you enjoy the best.” sounded.
This reporter had never witnessed a goalkeeping display like it.
It would be a crying shame if Clark is not included in the latest Scotland squad, which is named today. He more than merits the recall.