Liam would take any insult hurled at him if Saints go marching on
Liam Gordon will never forget being insulted for a full 90 minutes – and loving it!
The St Johnstone defender was far from intimidated when the Perth side took on Galatasaray in Turkey on Thursday night.
Supporters backing the home side in the Fatih Terim Stadium probably thought they could easily terrify the players from a little Scottish club.
They clearly knew very little about the steely determination that helped the Saints secure a cup double last season.
You have to assume they now realise it was seriously talented team that left Istanbul with a 1-1 draw.
Gordon and team-mates revelled in the fiery atmosphere during the first leg of the Europa League third-qualifyinground tie.
He said: “The night before the game when we were training was amazing.
“But probably the biggest moment was when we went out to warm up on Thursday night.
“The crowd were in and they were whistling at us. You just thought: “Jeez, this is ridiculous, the position we’re now in”.
“We were playing Galatasaray in a Europa League qualifier, which is just amazing.
“Being in that really hostile atmosphere is something we’ll take to our graves.
“It was a pleasure to play in front of them – even if all they did was give us abuse for 90 minutes.
“I’ll cherish that for the rest of my days.
“I said to the chairman at the end: ‘I bet you thought you’d seen it all’.
“It was an unbelievable result for the club. Yet again, people wrote us off. But we continue to prove them wrong.
“That gives us great satisfaction and it was great that supporters back home were able to watch it on TV.”
The chance to pit his wits against famous footballing names is something that excites Gordon.
He went on: “That’s what you want to do as a player.
“We were going up against guys like Ryan Babel and Arda Turan. They took Van Aanholt off at half-time, so it was just a surreal experience.
“We were up against top players, who were so sharp and technically gifted. It was a really high-level opposition.
“We needed our keeper, our back three, everyone to turn up on the night.
“You need a wee bit of luck
at times but you make your own luck and it was a great performance by all. “In terms of Ali Mccann (inset), we’ve known for a long time now how good he is, but it was another example that showed how far he can go in the game. “The world’s his oyster now. He can go asfarashewantsto.
“His midfield partner Murray Davidson was equally as good and is so influential for us. “Murray sometimes goes unnoticed because he does the dirty side of the game.”
It will be a massive night at Mcdiarmid Park this Thursday when St Johnstone look to finish the job against the Turks to progress to a play-off against Danish side Randers. “What an occasion
it’s going to be for the people of Perth,” added Gordon.
“Hopefully we get the go ahead for a full house and can give the fans a night to remember for the rest of their lives.
“The tie’s in the balance, but we’ve got a great chance.”
You sense there would be a great disappointment if Saints followed up one of the best results in their history by crashing out in the second leg.
This afternoon, it’s back to league business as they host Motherwell.
While the fans in attendance will all be chatting about European glory, Gordon maintains the players will be fully focused to take on the Steelmen.
“That’s the one thing about this group of boys, no one gets carried away with ourselves,” said the 25-year-old.
“We’re back to league duty and it’s a massive game for us – just as big as Thursday night.
“It’s time to get the professional heads back on. We’ll have recovered and be ready to go again.”