Guy Melamed will put cup final pain to good use when St Johnstone face Livingston at Hampden Park on Sunday.
The Saints striker, who scored a double in the 3-0 weekend win at Motherwell, went from elation to misery with Meccabi Netanya when his early opener in the Israel State final of 2019 ended up counting for nothing as opponents Bnei Yehuda levelled late in the contest and then won on penalties.
The shift in emotions is fresh in the memory for the 28-year-old and will serve as motivation when Callum Davidson’s men take on Livi at the national stadium with the Betfred Cup up for grabs.
“It was an amazing day and an amazing atmosphere,” he said. “I think there were around 40,000 people watching.
“It will be a lot different in an empty stadium but we will take it just as seriously and then hopefully we can win and celebrate with the fans at the end of the season or whenever lockdown ends.
“I scored in the final but we lost on penalties.
“I had the best feeling of my life in this game and then a short time later I had the worst feeling of my life. It was a very emotional game.
“The best goal of my career was in a cup final and hopefully I can get another one but with a different result.
“Having played in a final before will definitely help me. I like to feel the pressure. If you have pressure on you it means you are in a good place.
“We want to make all our fans celebrate and make history for the club. I’ll be a happy man if we can do that.”
Meanwhile, David Wotherspoon has joined Murray Davidson as an injury doubt after coming off at Fir Park with a groin strain.
“His groin’s a little bit tight,” said Saints boss Davidson. “We’ll just have to wait and see. Hopefully, we got it in time and it’s not too bad.”
Magnificent St Johnstone warm-up for Hampden with stunning 3-0 win at Motherwell
