Murray Davidson: Preventing away goal vital to Saints' Euro chances

St Johnstone captain Murray Davidson during his side's 2-0 loss in Turkey.SNS Group

Murray Davidson is well aware St Johnstone’s hopes of Europa League progression could be ended off early on Thursday night.

The Saints trail 2-0 to Eskisehirspor in the second qualifying round, but host the Turkish side feeling confident they can stay in the tie.

A goal for their opponents at McDiarmid Park however would all but kill off the tie, giving them a vital away goal, and Davidson says his side must adopt a similarly cautious approach before going after the goals they need.

"If they were to score in the first 20 minutes or whatever time it may be, it would be a massive bonus for them," he said. "So we have to make sure we keep it tight at the back to give ourselves any chance.

"We have got to be confident. We watched the match on television and they scored with two deflections.

"After the game there was a sense of disappointment that we had lost 2-0. It wasn't as if they had five or six chances and we were relieved with the scoreline.

"We were disappointed and after watching the game on video again, we believe that if we are 100% focused we can cause them problems.

"If we can get the first goal tomorrow then it is game on."

Olympique Marseille lie in wait for the winners of Thursday night's tie, with third qualifying round matches taking place on August 2 and 9.

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