Buddies cup hopes hinge on back door

BERT MITCHELL

Jim Goodwin says his St Mirren side’s defensive resolve can be key to their Scottish Cup hopes this weekend at Tynecastle.

Danny Lennon’s men kept the back door shut for the fourth time in their last five SPL fixtures against Hibs last weekend.

And ahead of their return to the Capital this Saturday for the cup quarter-final clash at Hearts, Goody revealed belief is high in the Buddies camp that they can make the last four.

To do that, the Saints would have to claim their first victory over the Gorgie outfit under Lennon’s charge at what will be the seventh time of asking.

But buoyed by his side’s impressive efforts in defence, Goody, who was outstanding in a no-nonsense back three alongside Lee Mair and David Barron, believes the time could be right to end their Jambos jinx.

The Irishman said: “We have been really solid at the back of late.

“And what is particularly pleasing about that was that even although Marc McAusland, who had been playing so well alongside Lee Mair, was out with an eye socket injury, we were able to realign to a three and still keep the clean sheet at Easter Road.

“To be fair, Craig Samson has had a big part to play in that with a couple of exceptional saves.

“But I thought we were just really solid and that frustrated Hibs. You look at the likes of Leigh Griffiths and Ivan Sproule, they have the pace and movement to cause any side trouble, but we kept them out.

“So in terms of going to Tynecastle then we are really chuffed to have posted another clean sheet at Hibs and maintained our consistency at the back.

“We know that we have found it tough against Hearts under the gaffer and the last time we went there we conceded five.

“So for me, the fact that we have been keeping it so tight of late is even more important ahead of this weekend’s tie.”

Saints were further boosted by the return of midfield prospect Kenny McLean. The 20-year-old has recovered from a fractured collar bone which had sidelined him for six weeks.

And Goodwin has no doubt his reintroduction to the team was another massive plus.

He said: “Kenny was playing really well when he did his collar bone and that was a big blow for both him and the club.

“So it was great to get him back at Hibs and he got a good 80 minutes under his belt, which will have given him a huge lift.

“With another week in training, his sharpness will improve and hopefully he has a key role to play for us at Tynecastle on Saturday.”

The Buddies skipper believes qualifying for the Scottish Cup semi- final – and earning the right to appear at Hampden – can also pay dividends for them in terms of their attempts to qualify for the SPL top six.

He said: “We are six points off Dundee United in sixth place with just five games left to go till the split so there are plenty of points available. If we could get past Hearts in the cup that would provide a massive plus for our confidence.

“But we are going to have to add a bit of a cutting edge as that is the one place we have been lacking of late. To get through a cup tie at a place like Tynecastle you are going to have to make the most of what comes your way.”