St Johnstone fans should have no problem getting a picture in their minds of the type of player Jamie Murphy will be at their club.
Likely to be predominantly deployed as a wide left forward cutting in on his right foot, as with Graham Carey on the other side, assists and goals will be expected from a man who has proven himself to be a class act.
And, unlike Carey, he’s done plenty of his good work against Perth teams.
He has helped beat Saints on eight occasions and found the net as many times.
Courier Sport looks back on Murphy’s career highlights versus the Perth side -and one very significant lowlight to balance the scales.
The semi-final nemesis
Murphy’s first goal against Saints was in a 2-1 win for Motherwell at McDiarmid Park in March 2010 when he was just 20-years-old.
It was the following season when he truly announced himself as a top level performer, though – hitting double figures across the campaign – and as a sharp thorn in the side of Derek McInnes’s team.
Murphy produced a magnificent individual display in the 3-0 Scottish Cup semi-final triumph for the Steelmen.
His goal was the second of the three and was exactly the type Callum Davidson will be hoping to see from him in blue and white.
With defenders backing off, Murphy drifted from the left side of the box to the middle and sent a low shot past Peter Enckelman from 20 yards out.
Three in one season
Murphy raised his standards even higher for Motherwell the following year – scoring 13 this time around.
They beat Saints heavily twice in 2011/12 (3-0 and 5-1) and their main man got three goals over those two fixtures.
The pick of them was a volley from a Tom Hateley cross in the second of those matches.
A parting gift
Saints were glad to see the back of Murphy when he crossed the border on January 2013 to sign for Sheffield United.
But before that big transfer, he had bagged another McDiarmid double, this time in a 3-1 Motherwell win.
Setting the Saints slump in motion
It wasn’t until Murphy was a Hibs players that he was back at McDiarmid as an opponent (after a nine-year gap).
And you could make a case that his game-changing intervention in November’s 2-1 comeback victory for the Easter Road side altered the course of Saints’ season.
When he was brought on for Paul McGinn as Jack Ross’s first substitute just after the hour-mark, the home team were sitting in the top six in the ‘as it stands’ Premiership table.
By the time Murphy had done his thing – setting up Kevin Nisbet’s equaliser and then scoring a late winner – Saints were fourth bottom and the freefall that nearly ended in relegation had begun.
His Opta statistics for 30 minutes of football make quite some reading.
The cup double contribution
If we’re talking about season-changing moments, in the previous campaign Murphy provided one that was arguably as pivotal as any Shaun Rooney header, Zander Clark save or David Wotherspoon chop.
In the opening half-hour of the Betfred Cup semi-final, Hibs were in near total command, with Murphy the star turn and looking as if he’d have as big a say in yet another Hampden defeat for Saints as he did over a decade earlier.
With the score 0-0 on 22 minutes an Alex Gogic cross was half-cleared and, unmarked on the penalty spot, Murphy’s first-time side-foot shot was blocked by Clark with his feet.
Back it came to the former Rangers man and this time, with the goal at his mercy, Murphy chose a chipped finish from six yards when something more basic was required.
As Rooney and Clark lay on the ground hoping for the best, his shot came off the bar and the rest is the stuff of St Johnstone legend.
Never has a double miss proved to be as important in the Perth club’s history.
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