Dennis determined to make amends for Hampden heartache
ST MIRREN striker Kristian Dennis hopes to be given the chance to atone for the team’s weak performance in the Betfred Cup semi-final.
Confidence was high among Jim Goodwin’s squad after knocking out Aberdeen and Rangers in the earlier rounds but they played poorly as they succumbed to Livingston at Hampden.
Now Saints are only one game away from returning to the national stadium after knocking out Inverness Caley Thistle 2-1 on Friday night. Should they find a way past Kilmarnock next weekend, it will present the Paisley side with a shot at redemption. And Dennis, who scored the equaliser against Inverness, hopes they get that chance.
“We know if we can beat Kilmarnock then we’ve got a second semi-final of the season to look forward to and that’s what we’re all hoping for,” said the 31-yearold. “We want to see if we can take it a step or two further than the Betfred Cup. We knocked out Aberdeen and Rangers and should have done better against Livingston in the semi.
“There’s a decent chance there now. The big boys, Rangers and Celtic, play each other so one of them will be out. And after that you just never know what can happen.
“We didn’t play the best on Friday night but I don’t think that matters at this stage of the competition. We got through and that’s all that matters.”
Dennis had been ruled out for the rest of the season in February with an Achilles problem but has returned ahead of schedule and scored in the last two rounds of the cup.
“I’m buzzing to be back, playing and scoring goals again,” added the Englishman. “And having another cup game next weekend just gives me another chance to play and make up for lost time. I thought my season was over eight weeks ago so this has all been a bit of a bonus and I’m loving it.
“I’m finding a bit of form which is good. I probably should have had more than one goal on Friday night but I was glad to get on the scoresheet after a few close things in the first half.
“I didn’t let my head go down after the missed chances as I always back myself to bounce back and get one eventually. And the chance that I got I knew I was definitely scoring.”
Inverness were unfortunate not to take the tie to extra-time after putting in a strong performance but forward Miles Storey hopes it can help get them over the line in their push for promotion.
The Highland club take on Dundee at home on Tuesday in a key battle in the race for playoff places.
Storey said: “We’ve got a huge game on Tuesday and it’s all in our hands. If we can win against Dundee then we have two games left and it’s ours to lose really.
“If we put the kind of performance in against Dundee that we did against St Mirren then we’ve got a really good chance.
“We’re really confident at the moment. We’re obviously disappointed to lose the game on Friday but we’ll take the positives into what’s left of the season.
“We know what we want to achieve, we won’t fear anyone if we make it to the play-offs.
“If we get quality in the box we feel like we’re going to score.
“I don’t think anyone will want to play us in a final. The team finishing second bottom will be under all the pressure after a tough season in the Premiership. They would be expected to win but with the way we are playing I would back us.”