Saints' have a colossus in Rhodes

JIM REYNOLDS

25 Apr 1994

ANDY Rhodes, the St Johnstone goalkeeper, will reach a personal milestone at Celtic Park on Wednesday night when he plays his 100th consecutive match for the club -- only the sixth Saint to achieve that mark since the war -- and, as an overture to the celebrations, he won a vital point for the Perth side in the relegation battle against Hearts at McDiarmid Park on Saturday.

The fact that Saints came out of the match with a point from the 0-0 draw was largely down to the brilliance of the big Englishman during a second half in which Hearts totally dominated and should have pulled themselves to comparative safety.

In the closing stages, Rhodes defied Jim Weir with a tremendous one-handed stop when the defender let fly from 25 yards, then he produced a magnificent double save from John Robertson and John Colquhoun.

"I can't say I'm delighted," he said afterwards.

"I would rather be less busy and see the likes of Billy Dodds getting the headlines.

Anyway, I'm there to make saves."

Now Rhodes prepares to face Celtic, and he is confident the club can get closer to the safety mark.

He said: "There hasn't been a great deal between the sides in the three matches we have had this season and I'm confident we can go there and get something."

Striker Billy Dodds, who admitted he had the best chance during Saturday's match when he snatched at a shot when he could have lobbed the ball over Henry Smith, also is confident.

"Celtic will find it hard to break us down," he said.

"We're on a good run at the moment and we're really solid at the back.

A point from each of our last four games will keep us up."

Saints manager Paul Sturrock conceded that if he had been the Hearts boss he would have been disappointed not to take both points and his opposite number Sandy Clark did, indeed, look on it as a point lost.

After a mediocre first half, the Tynecastle side, roared on by a big travelling support, produced a determined performance with captain Craig Levein and John Colquhoun leading the way.

Afterwards Hearts chairman Wallace Mercer announced a reward for the fans for their support by revealing that terracing prices for Wednesday's home match against Aberdeen would be slashed from £6 to £3.

Taken from the Herald