St Johnstone 1
Dundee 0
League (Premier League)

Match Report

It was party time for St Johnstone fans yesterday after they turned up in unusually large numbers to wit ness Saints' season fittingly capped.

The 2300 Dundee fans able to gain admission to McDiarmid Park may not have considered their day entirely wasted, either.

Admittedly the Dark Blues' marvellous six-match unbeaten run was ended by a 70th minute Paul Kane header which secured Saints a spot in next term's UEFA Cup competition.

However the travelling support was able to take consolation from the fact that the defeat at the end of a season which has turned out far better than anticipated had at least deprived rivals Dundee United of possible European Involvement via the unsatisfactory Fair Play system.

There was also the added bonus of being able to leave SPL chief executive Roger Mitchell in no doubt just how they feel about his organisation and its treatment of the club when he took to the pitch at half-time to present St Johnstone's under-21 squad with their championship trophy.

The match itself was nothing to write home about, and once Kane struck there was never any doubt about the outcome.

However, had Alan Main not pulled off a stunning save from James Grady shortly before the decisive blow, Dundee might well have completed their campaign in style.

"It was a disappointing result for us but, the way the game went, whoever scored first looked like going on to win," observed Dens boss Jocky Scott.

"And, unfortunately for us, Alan Main made that great save.

"I am not going to be too hard on our boys, though, because they have had a great season.

"We have done remarkably well this year, and hopefully can continue that next season.

Almost certainly missing when Dundee return to action will be big Brian Irvine, who looks like joining Dariusz Adamczuk and lain Anderson in quitting the club.

The Dark Blues haven't given up hope of persuading Irvine, made captain yesterday, to remain with them but in waving to the visiting fans at time-up, he appeared to be bidding farewell.

"I have asked Brian to keep me in touch with his situation, and we'll just have to wait and see what offers he gets from elsewhere," said Scott.

"The problem isn't financial. It's just that we've only offered him a year's contract and he is looking for greater security than that."

Irvine appears set to join Ross County, who are understood to be dangling the carrot of a three-year contract under his nose, although Hibs and Dunfermline are waiting in the wings.

Meanwhile full-back Lee Maddison will, as he indicated to Courier Sport on Saturday, be staying put.

"Lee has agreed a three-year con tract with us, which he will sign next week," confirmed Scott.

The first-half of this encounter belied its significance to Saints. Substitute Keiran McAnespie, on for the injured Keith O'Halloran, rescued the home side by knocking an Irvine header from an Anderson corner off the line, and Willie Miller did likewise to thwart Danny Griffin at the other end. But that was just about it drama wise.

The second period, though, saw St Johnstone take charge.

Portugese front man Miguel Simao should have forced the break- through after 61 minutes when he picked up an O'Neil cross and turned to face Robert Douglas only to fire straight at the keeper.

That should have proved costly for, when Grady got in between Griffin and Gary Bollan to meet Willie Falconer's inch-perfect cross you would have bet the mortgage on a goal and, thanks to the fingertips of Main, you would have lost.

Saints' worries evaporated within two minutes of that let-off. Kane fed John McQuillan who, in turn, fed John O'Neil. Kane nodded his cross downwards past Douglas, who was slow to react, and into the far corner.

Thereafter the worries for the home side were that Killie might scupper their challenge for third place and a first appearance in the UEFA Cup since losing 5-2 on aggregate to ZEL Sarajevo in December 1971-by scoring, or that Dundee might grab an equaliser.

But the outcome at Ibrox proved favourable while, at Perth, the near est thing to another goal came when Simao amazingly failed to convert a McQuillan cutback, then Miller, in attempting to clear the ball, almost directed it into his own net.

"I'd had a good feeling all week about today," claimed Saints boss Sandy Clark.

"I wasn't worried about Rangers because they are a very professional side, and I thought we would get a result ourselves.

"As It turned out, though, it was a bit nerve wracking."

The joyous celebrations of Clark's charges following referee Mike McCurry sounding the final whistle belled the belief that money is the god of the modern day player.

Finishing third in the SPL enhanced the squad's bonus pot by £200,000 compared to what they'd have received (£300,000) for coming fourth, yet finance was the last thing on the minds of a hard-working. who have earned committed that will come their every plaudit t way for a quite superb campaign.

"I hope we get the recognition we deserve for this," keeper Main said amid the celebrations.

They surely will. For a poorly supported provincial club to have reached the final of the League Cup, semi-final of the Tennents Scottish Cup, made the top three of the SPL and marched into Europe is a quite astonishing achievement, and one worthy of the highest praise.

Two players-Irvine (downing Simao) and Stuart McCluskey (grounding Falconer) were booked in yesterday's game.

Match report written by The Courier