St Johnstone are once again performing brilliantly on their European travels.
A 1-1 draw away to LASK in Austria leaves Saints in a very strong position to progress next Thursday in Perth.
European football is the icing on the cake for fans and a wee treat away from domestic routine.
It’s also a place where the unexpected is always just around the corner for players, fans and media alike, as I found on Saints’ trip to Belarus in 2013 to meet FC Minsk.
😍😍😍#SJFCLive
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) August 19, 2021
Then, I had to reach deep into my wallet to “weigh in” engineers who claimed there had been no BBC order for a line installation for the broadcast.
After parting with a wedge, the line mysteriously appeared in full, working order.
I then had to do a deal over the phone with a mysterious PR man from FC Minsk who was 140 miles away back in the Belarusian capital (the game had been played in Grodno because of stadium redevelopment) to arrange the commentary rights, which the BBC had seemingly omitted to organize.
Then, to crown it all, I had to negotiate with the Saints chairman a few hours before the game when he phoned me from the pre-match lunch about the potential fee for the former Saints player who was my co commentator!
At one stage in the to-ing and fro-ing on the phone between me and the powers that be back in Glasgow, the BBC contemplated blanking the game entirely, which would’ve been galling given that originally I’d had to argue the case with them to even cover it and send me in the first place.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief as kick-off time neared and my commentary eventually went ahead.
It was a fairly fraught preparation for the game though.
Belarus was the sole remaining place in Europe with the death penalty; a fact which drained the colour from the cheeks of one journalist reminded of the critical piece he’d written about the country just as our plane touched down.
Stevie MacLean’s goal won the match for Saints but they sadly lost out at home on penalties in the second leg.
By comparison to the previous round in Norway, against Rosenborg, where the only danger was the heinous price of a pint at around seven quid, I felt that there was an air of menace about the Belarus trip. Between visa issues and expense of air fares there was one solitary Scot there as I recall and he lived locally.
With paramilitary style police everywhere and tales of undercover officers watching movement of people, the Grodno trip wasn’t one I’d want to do again, but it’s in the nature of European football that you need to be prepared for the unexpected.
European competition can, of course, be a loss-making enterprise for clubs depending on how far they progress but it gives supporters a break from the humdrum of the usual routine.
We have run out of words to describe what this team continues to achieve.
The biggest game in the clubs history next Thursday.
The City of Perth has united over this incredible football team, and we need you all next week to make McDiarmid Park bounce once again!
🔵⚪️#SJFC pic.twitter.com/FLRXV8dBW4
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) August 19, 2021
It allows players to test themselves in different and difficult environments as well as against new opponents, and for those players willing to learn it’s a highly useful career experience.
It’s great therefore to see St Johnstone proving their mettle once again on the European stage and flying the flag for Scottish football with pride.
Let’s hope that next Thursday they can take a step further, as long as they don’t end up in Belarus!
