St Johnstone goalkeeper Zander Clark on how to save a Charlie Adam penalty as he extends incredible record against Dundee

Zander Clark underlined his credentials as a nemesis figure in the eyes of Dundee fans on Saturday.

St Johnstone 'keeper Zander Clark turns Dundee skipper Charlie Adam's penalty onto the post in the Perth side's 1-0 victory (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

The big, bearded St Johnstone ‘keeper kept another clean sheet – his fifth in a row against the Dens Park side. He was also involved in a high profile spat with then Dundee manager Neil McCann three years ago after the Perth team won 4-0 at Dens Park, though he was on the bench on that occasion.

The manner of his late save from Charlie Adam’s penalty made it possible to wonder whether Dundee will ever score past Clark again – and who knows when they will next meet?

It could be next season if Dundee make the most of their less cluttered itinerary, which is the one upside of exiting the Scottish Cup. They play Ayr United tomorrow night in a crucial league fixture. Presumably, Jason Cummings – left out of the side for the cup tie – will return to the starting line-up. A second-half substitute here, he was eager to take the penalty when his side were handed the chance to draw level, after Guy Melamed’s clinical first-half opener, with 15 minutes left. Clark himself was responsible for the award after wiping out Danny Mullen on the edge of the box so felt particularly keen to atone.

Adam is skipper and a decade older than Cummings, who scored Dundee’s previous penalty against Hearts, so the former Hibs striker had to defer to seniority. It’s likely the meticulous Clark was just as well-briefed about Cummings’ penalty-taking technique. He certainly knew all about Adam, not that this guarantees anything – as he later acknowledged. On this occasion, however, Adam did stick with his preferred method of hitting the kick towards the right-hand corner, to the keeper’s left.

“He’s taken a few in the past which I’ve had a look at,” said Clark. “But you can watch as many as you want – somebody can hit 25 in a row one way and then put it in a different direction this one time and there’s nothing you can do. I tried to wait as long as I could and hope he’d go back to that one where he tries to whip it to the goalie’s left.”

Clark got a touch to the ball which took it onto the post. He was then relieved to see the ball rebound towards him. There would normally have been a noisy band of away supporters in the stand to salute the moment while at the same time delighting in the misery of the Dundee fans, who, along with some players, spent the countdown to this fixture telling anyone who would listen how little they care about St Johnstone.

“We’d have had a big support through here,” said Clark. “Dundee class their derby as Dundee United, we’re not bothered about that. They can class whatever they want as their derby.

“All that matters to us is winning. It would have been nice to have been in front of our fans behind the goal after the game because they would have had a lot to shout about. I hope a lot of them have enjoyed watching it in the house – although I’m sure there will be a few who begrudge giving their money to Dundee telly!”

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