Saints boss Coyle rues what might have been

Published on Thursday 1 February 2007 11:56

SAINTS boss Owen Coyle was left to rue his side's missed chances, insisting that on any other day they would have booked their place in the CIS Cup final.

Poor finishing from the Perth outfit saw them miss out on a place against Kilmarnock at Hampden in March.

Strikes from David Murphy and Abdessalam Benjelloun in extra time gave Hibs victory after Steven Fletcher's opener had been cancelled out by Jason Scotland.

Coyle said: "We took the game on and on another day we would probably have found ourselves in the final.

"No-one outwith the St Johnstone dressing room or the supporters thought we had a chance and were talking about us just going out and keeping the score down, but that certainly wasn't the case.

"Those players have got too much about them to do that - and we knew that with the quality they have in the Hibs side they would have severely punished us.

"The players are disappointed but that's football and we now have to pick ourselves up for another important game against Falkirk this weekend."

The St Johnstone gaffer, while disappointed to miss out on a trip to the national stadium, was proud of the effort his players put in and added: "My players, they offered an awful lot to the game and I don't think anyone would have envisaged the periods of dominance we had over a very good Hibernian side.

"I didn't expect to be a goal down after three minutes, but the character my players showed to get back in the match was fantastic."