WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED
Even Covid chaos couldn’t halt Davidson’s Cup heroes
CALLUM DAVIDSON last night admitted St Johnstone’s run to the Scottish Cup final was thrown into chaos after they were forced to shut down their training ground following a Covid outbreak.
The Perth side went on to win a thrilling semi-final at Hampden 2-1 as goals from Chris Kane and impact sub Glenn Middleton saw off a late counter from St Mirren’s Conor McCarthy.
And they could now become the first non-Old Firm side to do a League Cup and Scottish Cup double since Aberdeen in 1989-90 if they beat Hibs in the final at the national stadium in two weeks’ time.
But their preparations for yesterday’s clash were severely disrupted when two members of the first-team squad tested positive for coronavirus on
Thursday, with two more players advised to self-isolate as close contacts despite negative tests.
Forced to bring in Hearts keeper Zdenek Zlamal as emergency cover after back-up keepers Elliot Parish and Ross Sinclair were ruled out, training was curtailed ahead of a battling win over Jim Goodwin’s side.
‘This Covid-19 season has been really tough; what happened hits home that it’s still there,’ said a relieved Davidson.
‘We need to be really vigilant and careful, it’s easy to pass it on and we are very vigilant and strict at the club. We just need to make sure we get everybody safe and healthy for the cup final. That, for me, is the most important thing.
‘It hindered our preparation for the game a lot.
‘We had to shut the training ground down. We probably could have trained but we shut it down as I didn’t want the virus to spread.
‘We will now get the players tested again and, hopefully, move forward for the big games we have coming up.’
Experienced duo Stevie May and Liam Craig were missing from St Johnstone’s matchday squad yesterday alongside the injured Murray Davidson. All three should be ready for the final against Hibs on Saturday, May 22, after the Easter Road side beat Dundee United in the first semi-final.
‘All the clubs have had to deal with it (Covid) at some point but it is very difficult,’ manager Davidson admitted. ‘Nobody can prepare you for it.
‘My players were magnificent for me. They showed their spirit again and just kept on going.
‘Hopefully we get the all-clear this week and we can crack on with a full squad.
‘The really difficult one was the bus travel.
‘We know it’s about keeping everybody safe and I think that, between now and the end of the season, all the boys will go to games in cars. So if anything does come back positive, it will just be one player we miss.
‘It’s really tough for our squad if we’ve got four or five out like today.
‘We were able to make attacking changes but didn’t have many defensive ones.’
Davidson, who is having an incredible first season as a manager after winning the Betfred Cup and securing a top-six finish in the Premiership, made an inspired substitution yesterday with the introduction of winger Middleton. The on-loan Rangers player crafted the cross for Kane to open the scoring after 72 minutes and then added a second with a stunning 25-yard free-kick two minutes later on a day when St Mirren missed several precious chances. ‘For a club like St Johnstone, just to get to two cup finals is incredible,’ said Davidson. ‘It hasn’t been done before. ‘We’ll now try to prepare and get everybody right for the final. Up until now, I hadn’t even thought about what it would mean. ‘It was a really good game and I’m just glad we were the ones to get through in the end.
‘At half-time, I asked for more of the same and the game swung both ways at times, but then Glenn came on and produced the magic for us.
‘People will talk about Glenn but Kano has scored again to put us 1-0 up. He was in the right place at the right time and that’s the sign of a good striker. Glenn then strikes a magnificent free-kick into the top corner. It is always difficult as we knew St Mirren would throw everything at us.
‘Liam Craig and Murray Davidson aren’t here and they are the two I’d have put on to try and see the game out.
‘When we went two goals up, I felt we were controlling it and then they scored in the last five minutes, which made it quite exciting.’