Alan Mannus has been on the wrong end of a 10 out of 10 Niall McGinn performance.
But the St Johnstone keeper is hoping that his Perth team-mates can make sure the Aberdeen forward is a four or a five at Pittodrie this afternoon.
The first time the Northern Ireland internationals came across each other was back in their homeland in 2007, and Mannus revealed that McGinn made a big impression in a 4-0 game.
“I first played against Niall when I was at Linfield and he was at Dungannon just before he moved to Derry City,” he recalled.
“That was a long time ago but he stood out in that game because they beat us and it was a big deal for Dungannon to beat Linfield.
“A lot of people were talking about the fact Niall got a rating of 10 out of 10 in the player ratings.
“He was very good that day but he got 10 because it was against Linfield and the journalists loved the fact they beat us!
“Dungannon are a relatively small club in Northern Ireland and it would be the equivalent of St Johnstone beating Celtic or Rangers.
“It was a league game and we went on to win the league so it didn’t matter but it was a big deal and my first encounter with Niall.
“He moved to Derry City not long after that and then to Celtic. I just hope he’s not getting a 10 in the paper this time.
“I’ve never really spoken to him about that game with Linfield. I’ve tried to forget about it but the fact he got 10 out of 10 in the paper was a big talking point although the mark was probably exaggerated a bit with the journalist no doubt a fan of one of our rival teams.”
More recently McGinn played a big part in the 4-3 Dons’ victory over Saints at McDiarmid Park, but Mannus stressed that there have been other times when the Perth defenders have come out on top.
And he’s hoping today will be another one of those.
Mannus added: “Niall is a good player and he’s scored a few goals against us and myself over the last couple of seasons.
“When he’s on his game he’s one of the best at what he does in his position and he can cause real problems.
“But there have been occasions when we’ve kept him quiet and he hasn’t done a lot and hopefully that’s the case again.
“They have options going forward with Adam Rooney, Jonny Hayes, Peter Pawlett and McGinn who are all good players and can score goals and cause problems.
“You expect to be in for a busy day when you play Aberdeen.”
Whatever the result in Aberdeen, neither Mannus nor McGinn will be the Northern Ireland sporting story of the weekend.
Belfast boxer Carl Frampton is fighting Scott Quigg in one of Britain’s biggest bouts in years, and Mannus met the super-bantamweight at a Northern Ireland squad get-together.
“Carl came into the team hotel in Belfast before one of our of our qualifiers,” he said. “He did a Q&A and seemed like a really good guy.
“I’ve never seen him fight, I haven’t watched boxing in years, so I couldn’t comment on him but as a person I thought he came across really well and down to earth.
“I wish him all the best. I don’t follow boxing much but he he’s highly thought of back home. Northern Ireland people really get behind their sportsmen – George Best would be a standout in our history and then Pat Jennings, Rory McIlory and now Carl.”
Saints will be without injured midfielders Murray Davidson and Chris Millar.