ZANDER’S EMPTY PROMISE
Clark vows to get back to a full house for Hampden showpiece after Covid wrecked his Saints party
When a miracle is achieved there should be no regrets.
But while Zander Clark will always cherish the two cup winner’s medals he got as a St Johnstone player, something still rankles.
That there were no fans inside Hampden to witness it.
When he checks the news right now – and listens to the evidence coming from the current Covid Inquiry – it irks him even more.
Clark and his former Perth team- mates pul led off the impossible in 2021 by lifting both the League Cup and Scottish Cup.
He probably won’t experience anything like that double in his career again.
But it’s tempered ever so sl ight ly that instead of celebrating with family and friends on the Hampden turf, it was on a FaceTime phone call due to the restrictions of the pandemic.
That’s why he’d love to repeat the feat with Hearts.
If the Jambos can get past Rangers in today’s Viaplay Cup semi- f inal, they wi l l edge closer to silverware.
And this time, if Clark can get his hands on it in front of 50,000 supporters, it might just be even more special than Saints’ success.
As he prepared for the clash with Gers, the Hearts No. 1 said: “It was a special time for me – but it was peak Covid.
“I wouldn’t say it was less enjoyable. But to not have anybody there at Hampden, friends or family, it was weird.
“There’s a tinge of sadness. “When you see the stories on the news now, you think we could probably have had people there. That’s the toughest part. Thankful ly, we’ve got the benefit of FaceTime.
“So I spoke to mum, dad and wife straight after the game in the changing room.
“I managed to savour those moments with them.
“Hopefully we can do the same with Hearts.”
St Johnstone were long shots with the bookies going into their League Cup semi almost three years ago against Hibs.
But with Clark between the sticks they defied the odds to win 3- 0 before seeing off Livingston in the final.
He faces a similar scenario this afternoon. Hearts aren’t fancied at all to upset the favourites Rangers. But Clarke insists they have the belief to pull off a shock.
He said: “This club have been in semi- finals and f inals in recent years. We want to get back there and try to win it.
“We know it will be a tough game but the cups are probably our best chance of silverware.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position and we’ll have a gameplan for Rangers.
“St Johnstone were massive underdogs against Hibs. We knew we’d have to soak up pressure and we did that before taking the lead. After that, we were comfortable. It will be similar against Rangers and we need to limit their chances.
“When we’ve got the ball, we have to try to nick a goal.