Dorman concedes Buddies lucky to land Saints replay

Published on Monday 10 March 2008 09:37

ST MIRREN midfielder Andy Dorman admitted his side were fortunate to earn a Scottish Cup replay with St Johnstone.

Liam Craig's first-half penalty put the First Division side ahead in the last-eight clash, but Dorman struck with 17 minutes remaining to ensure the clubs will meet again at Love Street for the right to progress.

St Johnstone will no doubt be disappointed not to have used home advantage to finish off the tie and Dorman praised the McDiarmid Park players for producing a spirited showing against the Buddies.

"The main thing is that we got our name in the hat for the next round," Dorman said.

"We didn't play particularly well and we were pretty lucky to get through to having a second chance.

"All credit to St Johnstone. They were brilliant from the word go and did well throughout the whole game."

Dorman scored after he latched on to a flick from Craig Dargo to calmly lob the ball over Saints' goalkeeper Alan Main.

And the Englishman hailed the enthusiasm of the fans, insisting they had a large part to play in the Paisley club's second-half improvement.

He said: "Our supporters have been travelling well, especially in the Cup, so once again it was nice to see so many people there.

"I'm not sure how many people there exactly were but they gave us a great lift, particularly in the second half."

In the second period Andy Jackson saw a header cleared off the St Mirren goal-line by David van Zanten, while the striker just failed in his bid to convert a rebound after a header from substitute Kevin James was blocked by Smith.

However, despite failing to convert their chances, St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes claimed his players believe they can beat St Mirren and get to the semi-final.

He said: "When we go to Paisley we will have confidence that we can still progress."