PerthSaints_1884

If anyone would like to help set-up the card display, send me a message and I'll give you the details.

EUROPA LEAGUE CARD DISPLAY: Hi all, We have been busy planning a card display for the Europa League home tie, which will take place on either July 17 or July 24. Once again, we need the support of the fans for this to happen. All donations are welcome, every little helps. You can donate via PayPal by making payment to stjohnstonecarddisplay@gmail.com Thanks for any help with this.

I don't play the drum, but do take it to the games. Pretty sure that the drum will be in the top tier, roughly in the middle of the stand. Send me over a message and we'll try get something sorted.

Rolled up and slotted in between the metal bar that runs across the underside of the seat.

Drum is going. Looking for vounteers to help with the set up of the card display. This will take place on Friday 16th of May with a morning start. If available, please get in touch. Thanks.

Payments on hold just now. Account needs validated but I'm unable to do this until later on tonight.

Hi all, We are in the process of arranging a card display for the Scottish Cup final. The display will ideally cover the whole of the 'Jock Stein Stand', but will be downsized if necessary. Numerous display ideas are currently be looked into, if you have an idea please share your thoughts. With the final fast approaching, it is necessary to start acquiring funds. A local company have been contacted - the cost will be £250, which is fantastic. We are awaiting confirmation from the SFA and are hoping to hear back tomorrow, but with Aberdeen being granted permission for the League Cup final at Celtic Park, it should not be an issue. Payments can now be made on PayPal by sending to stjohnstonecarddisplay@gmail.com. Currently sitting at £45.77, once we are nearing the target figure I will let you all know. Thanks in advance for any donations. If you are on Facebook, you can keep up to date here: https://www.facebook.com/sjfcdisplay?fref=ts Come on you Saints.

Hamilton brushed aside Saints U20’s this evening in an encounter played at a drenched New Douglas Park. Two early goals from Watson and Brophy, followed by a second half penalty from Docherty resulted in the Perth youngsters suffering a disappointing 3-0 defeat. St Johnstone, much similar to last week, found themselves trailing within the first five minutes. An early Hamilton corner from the left wasn’t fully cleared, leaving the unmarked Watson to rise above all and head beyond Hurst. In a lively opening, Hamilton almost doubled their lead with only nine minutes on the clock. Brophy reacted first to connect with a cross from the right, but his header went inches wide of the target. He would not be denied a minute later. A low delivery into the box fell to the feet of the alert forward, who turned Brown and fired low into the bottom corner. The explosive start from the side from South Lanarkshire sparked a reaction from Saints. A clever interchange between Easton and Thomson resulted in the latter bundling the ball into the back of the net. However, a quick glance over to the nearside revealed that the linesman had already flagged for offside. Then, direct play from Thomson in the 30th minute created space for the shot, but his strike from the edge of the box was straight at Hamilton stopper Currie. Having weathered a short St Johnstone revival, Hamilton went on the attack. A deep ball into the area was misjudged by Hurst but his blushes were saved as Andy Ryan could only header on to the crossbar. With half-time approaching, Hurst was called upon to deny Paul George from adding a third, tipping the ball around the post. From the resulting corner, the crossbar was again shaking, Devlin finding space this time to head off the woodwork. It was all but over in the 49th minute. Ryan meandered his way into the area before eventually being pulled down from behind. Without hesitation, the referee pointed to the spot. Docherty stepped up and smashed the ball high into the top right corner, leaving Hurst helpless. With a comfortable lead, Hamilton continued to successfully deter any momentum the Perth side attempted to mount. The ball was in the back of the Saints net again with twenty minutes to go, but the referee deemed that Hurst had been fouled when attempting to gather the ball. Hamilton were forced to play the remaining five minutes with ten men when El Zubaidi pulled up with a hamstring injury – all substitutes were already on the field of play. St Johnstone did manage to break forward in the 86th minute when Davies slipped in Adarabioyo but his shot was well blocked by the covering McMann. An impressive performance from Hamilton can leave the Saints youngsters with no complaints at the final result. Attention will now be turned to an important SFA Youth Cup fixture against St Mirren on Sunday. St Johnstone team: Hurst. Gray, Brown, Steeves, McKenzie (Stevenson ’62). Thomson, Joyce, Coultress, Easton (Davies ’74), Trialist. Fortnam-Tomlinson (Adarabioyo ’46)

St Johnstone twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw in tonight’s home tie against Kilmarnock, played at the Excelsior stadium in Airdrie. Three minutes on the clock and Kilmarnock were ahead. A low cross from the right was met by Pooler, who managed to evade his marker and slide the ball beyond Hurst. The Perth side responded well. Easton was first to come close – quick feet on the edge of the area created space for the shot, which went narrowly wide of the target. Easton then turned provider, playing a reverse pass into the path of Adarabioyo but his powerful drive across goal was saved well. Easton was at it again in the 34th minute. The crafty midfielder jinked inside his man and was unlucky to see his curling effort agonizingly brush past the post. A minute later, St Johnstone were awarded a penalty when Steeves was dragged to the ground in the box. Easton stepped up, casually strolled forward and passed the ball wide of the target. Undeterred, Saints continued to press forward. Firstly, Thomson surged to the by-line and cut the ball back for the onrushing Fortnam-Tomlinson, who blazed over from all of six yards. Thomson was again involved moments later, this time meeting a knock down to volley inches wide. Kilmarnock should have doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time. A mistake from Hurst presented a glorious opportunity for the Killie frontline, but the resulting effort was smashed over the crossbar. Into the second half and once again it was Kilmarnock who started quickly. A driven corner was headed back off the post, much to the delight of the defeated Hurst. However, up the other end, the energy of Thomson was causing problems for the opposing defence. A low strike across the goalkeeper was well saved and tipped out for a corner. The game burst into life in the 73rd minute. A curling Easton free-kick was expertly saved, only the fingertips of the Kilmarnock stopper denying the equaliser. He could not, however, deny Thomson levelling the game up a moment later. The youngster quickly moved the ball inside before accurately firing the ball into the far corner of the net. Saints were not level for long. A fantastic one touch move by Kilmarnock was calmly turned into the back of the net by Gardyne with just over ten minutes to play. With five to go, St Johnstone pushed forward in a desperate attempt to tie the game up. Step forward Scott Gray. The defender, driving up from left back, beat his man with a neat dummy before unleashing a ferocious strike from twenty-five yards that arrowed into the top corner. That was to be the last action of the game. A hard-fought but deserved point for the U20’s.

Match report from tonight's game. http://perthsaints.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/st-johnstone-u20s-v-celtic-u20s-match-report/

James Dunne has signed on loan until the end of the season. He goes straight into the squad for tonight's game against Dundee United.

When I asked why, I was told that after a meeting yesterday, those involved decided against it. Shame considering a bit of time has been spent on organising it, but nothing can be done. I'm sure everyone will get behind the team and that is what matters most.

Just off the phone with the SPFL. We are NOT allowed a card display at the semi-final. An explanation wasn't given.

If anyone missed it, here's an article on his rise to fame. http://perthsaints.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/stevie-stevie-may-stevie-may-stevie-stevie-may-from-milan-to-mcdiarmid/

Croft signalled to the bench after the last run down the line and later mentioned something about cramp. He played really well, but have to agree with others that he needed to come off.

I think it's 'I wanna tell you, I might as well do, about a boy who can do anything. He plays for saintees, loves the ladies, Stevie May, Stevie May, Stevie May.

http://perthsaints.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/stevie-stevie-may-stevie-may-stevie-stevie-may-from-milan-to-mcdiarmid/ - article on Stevie May's rise to fame.

For those who do not already know, a card display is being organised for this match. We have been in contact with a local company over the past couple of weeks and now have a rough price. The display will most likely be kept simple, however should still be effective. 1,850 white card and 1,850 blue card are set to be ordered in A3 size. Obviously, we are holding off before we fully know that the Roseburn stand is sold out - if we do not manage to do this, It will be re-assessed and perhaps done on a lesser scale. In order to pay for the display, bucket collections at the next couple of home games is an option. In terms of the display, what are your thoughts? As stated, personally feel simple is the way forward - perhaps a checkered design or stripes? Anyone who has previous experience in this area or if you would simply like to help, please send me a message.

The only problem I see is that the stand where St Johnstone fans will be seated, has been mentioned as the away end!

A very disappointing performance today. Motherwell are a side that on paper I don't really rate that highly and therefore expected us to give a good account of ourselves. It was quite the opposite. I'll run through the team and give my opinion on each: Mannus - Didn't look his solid self, perhaps could have done better with one or two of the goals. Hopefully I'm proven wrong when the highlights are up. 6 Scobbie - Had a bit of a torrid time up against Ainsworth whose pace and trickery was impressive. 6 Wright - I've been critical of Wright previously and after today's performance that continues. Resorts to lumping the ball forward instead of keeping the ball on the deck which just invited pressure back upon ourselves. Perhaps with Cregg out there wasn't a constant player creating space and available for the short ball, but still, punting it out for a goal-kick at the other end isn't ideal. 5 Anderson - Looked a little lost today, surprising after looking solid last week. He tended to look for the long ball as well, which was never going to pay off. 6 Mackay - The forever consistent RB was a bit off the pace. Very unlucky with a strike that came back off the bar. 6 Wotherspoon - Can be dangerous when he drives at the opposing defence but doesn't do it nearly enough. Appeared to go missing in parts of the game today and his set-pieces were woeful. 5 McDonald - Wasn't his day today. Did try to get on the ball and when he did, not much happened. His cross field pass near the end that went out for a throw-in pretty much summed it up. 6 Brown - I was delighted when I was told Brown was starting. Plugged away well and didn't look out of place. Although they didn't always come off, he appeared to constantly try to move the ball forward. Perhaps looked a bit more vulnerable in terms of conceding when he was taken off? 7 Davidson - His usual aggressive self but struggled to really get into the game. Motherwell passed the ball around and across their midfield nicely which made it difficult. 6 Edwards - Not as influential as the previous two games, but at least he has a go. Looked dangerous when he was one on one, perhaps should have had a penalty that was given outside of the box? 7 May - Didn't get any service. Created a few chances himself with some very nice touches but needed someone up beside him. 7

Agreed, but that wouldn't stop me going to the game. I don't post on here very often, but do often browse the forum to keep up to date. What I have noticed is supporters trying to belittle their own, which is frustrating to see. The great thing about football is that it attracts people from all different wakes of life and different backgrounds - some wish to stand and make noise, others prefer to sit quietly with their home-made sandwiches. However, our support should still be one. All the moaning and as you say aggro that does happen is rather embarrassing and simply not needed. I'm looking forward to this one, it will be interesting to see how Dundee United bounce back after their defeat yesterday. We always tend to be poor against United at home, but hopefully our second half performance against Celtic can continue into this one. If that's the case, we certainly shouldn't lose. As unfair as it is on Scobbie, I personally wouldn't change the backline. They were solid enough in dealing with a Celtic team that have been scoring for fun recently. In the midfield, I'd like to see Edwards come in from the start - he is direct and has a go at the opposing defence. Davidson and McDonald in the middle, the latter sitting with Murray perhaps given a bit more freedom. Although Wotherspoon has been poor of late, I do think that he is one good game away from pushing on and finishing the season well, so hopefully a bit of faith and it will pay off. Hasselbaink playing off May upfront. I'd like to see Kane getting a good half hour if Nigel isn't pulling his weight. Hopefully a decent crowd, with a decent atmosphere. The drum will be there.

The club have confirmed that the drum will be allowed into the game.

Was told no. Then yes. Now waiting on a phone call.

Yes hopefully. It is currently at the club.

Think there could be about 8 now, not sure if the older guys are going? Drum will be there, hopefully a few can come down and join us. Big game, need to get right behind the team from the off.