Motherwell and St Johnstone meet on Saturday at McDiarmid Park in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
The last cup meeting with St Johnstone in Perth was in 2004. Motherwell won 3-0 thanks to a couple from David Clarkson and a first ‘Well goal from a young Scott McDonald. The travelling support could not be accommodated in the stand behind the goal and the excess was moved to the main stand after the game had started.
There will be another good representation from Lanarkshire. The initial allocation of tickets in the main stand is gone and sales are now open for the North end.
The travellers will need to see an improvement from the Steelmen if progress is to be made. The recent showing against Rangers and Aberdeen gained much praise but the last two outings at Rugby Park and Easter Road plumbed the depths. The packed schedule and the continuing injury list were mitigating factors but it is hard to overlook the unforced errors last weekend.
Archie Mair will be more familiar with his team-mates after his rushed introduction and the other new boy, Kai Andrews, already looks like a firm starter. The club reports that Harry Paton, Paul McGinn and Liam Gordon will be assessed.
St Johnstone replaced Craig Levien with Simo Valakari in September after a poor start to the campaign. The change has not, as yet, served its purpose as the Saints are now isolated at the bottom of the table. A run of thirteen with only one win is relegation form so an adventure in the cup will offer some distraction from their travails in the league.
They have conceded a whopping 47 goals in the league to date and that statistic may give the visitors some encouragement. At the other end Benjamin Kimpioka has an impressive tally of 11 goals to his credit in all competitions.
Motherwell have already chalked up two wins over St Johnstone and with the backing of a big 'Well crowd there’s every reason to expect a third. Another 2-1 win will do nicely.