ST JOHNSTONE skipper Kevin James could not help but wonder what might have been as he left Raydale Park on Saturday.

The big man should have been well satisfied, having seen his side outplay First Division leaders Gretna on their own pitch.

Any notion that the little village would be hosting a flag-day fete quickly disappeared as the Perth men bossed the match from kick-off. By half-time the artist dressed in clown attire had packed away her face paints and balloons and the “SPL here we come” slogans were being sheepishly wiped away.

Even legendary former England manager Sir Bobby Robson, a guest of the club, had his proverbial balloon burst, having given the Black and Whites their pre-match team talk only to watch them be outclassed.

Of course, Gretna remain firm favourites to go on and clinch the championship some time during what remains of the campaign, sitting five points clear with a goal difference 11 better than the McDiarmid men.

However, such was the style of Saints’ victory you could not help asking why they were not the ones in control of their own destiny.

“I actually feel quite disappointed and I know that sounds daft after beating the league leaders 2-0 away from home,” said James.

“It just shows you what could have been possible had we got the right results earlier on. On the plus side, the gap is down to five points with three games still to go so we won’t give up.

“It is a great result and hopefully we can carry the momentum on to the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic next Saturday.

“When you look at the players we have in our team, on our day we are capable of beating anybody, although we have shown that more so in cups this season than the league.”

One of the star turns James was referring to is, of course, striker Jason Scotland. The Trinidadian was again watched by a posse of scouts—Birmingham and Cardiff City believed to be among those represented--and they must have been impressed.

He was the man of the match by a mile, with some of his twists and turns making fools of the Gretna defenders at times. He also scored his side’s two goals: the first a deflected shot after 20 minutes; the second a fine sprint and finish just before the break.

Even the rather deflated home fans appreciated his play and gave him a nice round of applause when he was replaced by Derek Lilley with 10 minutes to go.

“Jason was terrific and that’s why clubs in the English Championship are looking at him,” said James.

“Their fans were brilliant to clap him like that and it was an appreciation of a very good footballer. Sometimes he just doesn’t turn up but this time he won the game for us himself with his skill and hold-up play.

“Having trained and played with Jason, one thing you notice is that he is built like the side of a house. So he has strength and there is no doubting his ability. It is just a question of whether he brings his tools with him at times.”

James will be hoping Scotland can hammer a nail into Celtic’s hopes on Saturday when the teams meet in the last four of the cup.

“Jason has been bumping his gums about how Hampden can be a great showcase for him,” said the Saints skipper, acknowledging that the striker has already notched a winner for Dundee United in a semi-final at the national stadium.

“It is a bonus game for us. We are not expected to win but we will give 100% and not give up without a fight.

“I think we showed that we mean business when we faced Gretna. The gaffer told us that if we did not perform then we would put ourselves under pressure as regards getting into the team for next week. Nobody pulled out of a tackle and we worked our socks off.”

The one black mark for Saints was the red card received by Portuguese winger Filipe Morais. You will have to travel far to see a greater display of daftness. Firstly, he kicked the ball away after a decision went against him, then he booted it over the main stand following another ruling he disagreed with.

Referee Kenny Clark’s shake of the head and shrug of the shoulders showed he was as baffled as the rest of us by Morais’s moments of madness. “It was sheer folly,” said boss Owen Coyle and you suspect it was a long trip home for Morais.

Coyle was happier with the general performance. “We came down to win the game and reduce the points gap to five and I think if you watched the game you could be in no doubt about the outcome,” he said.

“You could not argue that we did not deserve to win and I thought some of our football was excellent.

“I happen to think we have had a super season and there is no doubt that our cup exploits have had a detrimental effect on our league form, there has been a kickback.

“The great thing is, though, that we have shown we are a really good team and can now look forward to a great occasion against Celtic with confidence.”

As for Gretna, they looked anything like champions-elect and are stumbling towards the finishing line. Unless they improve dramatically they could find it tough in their remaining matches against Hamilton Accies (a), Clyde (h) and Ross County (a).