Hotshot May’s score to settle with Dons fans
THEY’LL tell you it’s easy to ignore. Even kid on that abuse from three blokes behind the goals in a crowd of 136 can be more off- putting than 10,000 mocking voices in unison. Don’t believe them. While fear of being drummed out of the players’ union means Stevie May is obliged to pedal the official line about supporter ‘interaction’, the St Johnstone striker admits that pelters hurled his way by Aberdeen fans last time these clubs met on semi-final business adds a certain edge to Sunday’s reunion.
Reminded that the neutral venue of Tynecastle had rocked to some pretty hostile — and personal chants — during that 4-0 League Cup romp f or the Dons, the 21-year- old manages to smile at the memory.
‘I think most fans dislike me for some reason or another — but especially them,’ he said. ‘You kind of ignore it but, in the end, it would make it that bit sweeter if we were able to turn them over in the semi-final.
‘You don’t really hear too much of it when you’re playing, your mind is j ust f ocused on the game in hand.
‘Why do they dislike me? They must not like my hair! I’ve had it cut now, so they might take a fancy to me…
‘I think at 1-0 in the League Cup semi-final, it (the verbal abuse) wasn’t that noticeable. At 4-0, it was a bit harder to ignore. But I would never let something like that affect me in a negative way. If anything, it spurs me on to do well.
‘I know Stevie MacLean was getting pelters in the stand, there was even a bit of bother near where the players were.
‘The Aberdeen fans have made a bit out of me not scoring against them this season — it was similar with Partick Thistle fans last year, when I was at Hamilton, because they were the team I couldn’t score against.
‘They also gave me a bit this s eason — but eventually I managed to score the last time we played against them.
‘It makes it all that much sweeter when you do something like that. Having said that, I don’t care if one of the Aberdeen players kicks it in, as long as the ball goes in their net and we get to the final.’
St Johnstone must feel as if it is them against the world in their bid to reach the Scottish Cup Final, given the range of alternative scenarios on offer. Aberdeen against Dundee United, so the theory goes, would be a brilliant final. Aberdeen against Rangers? Explosive — and great box-office.
The common thread is Aberdeen, rather than Saints, lining up at Celtic Park next month.
Nobody wants them but they don’t care. They certainly aren’t going to let a lack of love put them off.
May, who has already equalled Paul Wright’s post-war goalscoring record for St Johnstone with 18 league strikes this season, feels as if the serial semi-finalists stand more than a fighting chance of upsetting the script on Sunday.
‘This is the biggest game of my career — a massive semi-final, getting one step closer to winning the Scottish Cup,’ said the Scotland Under-21 international.
‘For the club, it’s the next big step. We’ve done everything else, got i nto Europe, consistently finished in the top six.
‘But we’ve struggled to get past this barrier. We seem to get to the semi-finals easily enough every season, whether it’s the League Cup or Scottish Cup, only to fall at the last hurdle.
‘If it’s going to be any season that we get through and go on to win the Cup, it might as well be this season.
‘It’s all about performing on the day. We need to give it everything and we also need the wee bit of luck you need to win a cup. We are confident we can get to the final.
‘It would be good to get a goal but, if i t takes penalties or whatever, we just want to get through and advance to the final. We definitely get the impression of being outsiders. You can see from the previous fixtures all season that Aberdeen have got the better of us.
‘We’re underdogs, but that’s fine because it means we’re not under pressure. All the pressure is heaped on Aberdeen, especially after they’ve won a cup — and they’re favourites not just to beat us but to win another trophy.
‘There’s less expectation on us than when we played them in February, definitely. The League Cup is massive but the Scottish Cup is that much bigger, the one everyone wants. Being underdogs, we still fancy our chances.’