'Young Taylor staking claim to be St Mirren regular'
A weekend without St Mirren, leaves a chasm in one's soul (and plans) begging to be filled.For this reason, I found myself at Kelty on Saturday afternoon to follow League 1 leaders Arbroath on their travels in pursuit of promotion. Fear not, this is not a changing of allegiances as there were multiple sources of Saints connection as motivation.Former long-serving Saint (and occasional St Mirren TV commentary colleague) Ryan Flynn had the captain's armband on Saturday in holding midfield. Flynn departed Paisley in the summer after seven seasons, contributing to Championship survival and subsequent promotion, top-flight establishment once again and European qualification.Sitting ahead of Flynn in a more advanced role, Saints' loanee and local prospect Fraser Taylor has been something of a headline-grabber in their recent winning run and consolidation of top spot. Taylor delivered an inch-perfect cross in Norway to give the Buddies hope against Brann in August and has further developed that creative reputation on loan to the Red Lichties. While I've no capacity to do so, Saturday did feel something like a scouting mission to check in on a name many in black and white would like to see feature more frequently in the top flight next season.The midfield duo played a starring role in a dominant first half for the visitors, suiting the match well as Arbroath rolled the ball around their hosts with some comfort until half-time. Indeed, it was another former Saint in defender Keith Watson that scored the opener and only goal before the break.In the second half, momentum shifted and short, sharp passing was dispensed with in favour of long balls to chase and headers to contest. Arbroath toiled and were made to pay with the last kick of the ball as the points were shared.Saturday at Kelty might have had even more relevance to this column had additional Saints loanee and much-touted wingback Calum Penman not been unavailable due to international duty. The 17-year-old with the missile throw made his Saints breakthrough in the new year before joining Taylor in Angus. A regular at age group level for his country, Penman came on at half-time in Saturday's competitive draw with Sweden and drew plaudits for another strong performance.Elsewhere around the country on loan duty, Gallagher Lennon played the full 90 as left back for Bonnyrigg Rose in a defeat at Clyde, while Shay Kelly remained on the bench in Dumbarton's goalless draw with Queens at the Rock.This weekend, however, normal service resumes as Derek McInnes' Saints-frustrating juggernaut rolls into town. The Saints have one job to do pre-split, and that's to rack up points and make the gap to the top half narrows as opposed to their buffer above the danger zone.You can find Mark Jardine on Misery Hunters, external
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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I realised Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou would be a success after his incredible moment in game vs St Johnstone
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Belfast Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Former Northern Ireland star thrilled to take reins of St Johnstone Under-19s
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Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Matheus Cunha wants to be Man Utd's new Wayne Rooney after watching legend on TV every week at his grandma's house
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Cunha, 26, saw some qualities in his new club's 253-goal all-time leading scorer that he could relate to — and hopes he can bring to the modern-day squad. Advertisement READ MORE ON MAN UTD MAN UTD FILES Osimhen is shock Plan B to Gyokeres but huge wages will pose major dilemma The former Wolves and Atletico Madrid forward said: 'I remember the whole squad at the time that I started to watch. 'I liked Rooney at the front. Wow! He is someone I have a lot of similar things in my game, as I always give everything. 'He was the No. 10, I remember it on his shirt and everyone loved the skills of the player — but he always brought more. 'He would slide tackle to try to take the ball, this kind of energy inside of him was a big example.' Advertisement JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS It may be 17 years ago but Cunha can still name most of the players who helped United overcome Chelsea 6-5 on penalties in Moscow after the Champions League final finished 1-1 after extra-time. He said: 'Of course, I can mention a lot of the players. Matheus Cunha gifts Wolves team-mates Joao Gomes and Andre a Rolex ahead of Man Utd transfer 7 Cunha has signed a contract until June 2030 Credit: Getty Advertisement 7 He insisted that Ruben Amorim helped convince him to join Credit: Getty 'Cristiano Ronaldo — everyone knows him, it is easy to talk about him. But Ryan Giggs as well. 'I can imagine the team now — it started with Edwin van der Sar in the goal, Rio Ferdinand with Nemanja Vidic the defenders. Paul Scholes, wow, Michael Carrick. 'That team had a big impact on my teenage years.' Advertisement Cunha's performances at Molineux and his 17 goals for Wolves last season made him one of the hottest properties in the Premier League this summer. United might be a hard sell to some players after the dismal season they have just endured. There will be no European football next term after they limped home in 15th place with just 42 points — their lowest-ever total in Premier League history. But after following the club since he was a boy growing up in Joao Pessoa the chance to put on the famous red shirt at the real Theatre of Dreams was an opportunity he could not turn down. Advertisement Cunha added: 'Maybe outside people don't understand my decision. 'But when you have always dreamed to play here, it's easier to come to this decision. 7 7 Advertisement 'It's hard to explain but for me, no one else is like United. 'I know it's been a hard season for everyone, so my decision shows what this club is to me and what I believe this club can be.' Recalling how he first fell in love with the Red Devils, he revealed: 'My house didn't have the channel to watch the Premier League and my cousin's house didn't have it either. 'He's older than me and supports United — he showed me the way to start watching the Premier League and the need to support United. We could only watch the Premier League at my grandma's house, so we organised to go every weekend. Advertisement 'When we played together in the street, on the beach, on the gravel, we called those pitches Old Trafford. 'So, wow, it's so hard to be here now thinking about the past — it's very emotional for me. 'It's the most common phrase you can say in this moment but yeah, it's a dream come true for me. 'It's my dream team, the team for me.' Advertisement In 2017 Cunha hoped his wish of one day playing for the Red Devils was about to come true when he competed against them for Coritiba in the youth team tournament the Dallas Cup. He said: 'One of the directors at Coritiba said a director from United had asked about me. 'I was so excited, imagining a dream when I go to United — but after that the conversations stopped. 'But I think this was the start of my journey. Playing against United was a dream. Wow!' Advertisement Eight years later, he has finally got his wish and Cunha believes it is coming at the perfect time for him. And part of the move is down to manager Amorim who Cunha admitted helped convince him to make the switch. He said: "I have a lot of faith in him. I hope he succeeds in conquering the world like he did in Portugal. "I'm here to help the team and help him. All our discussions made my decision easier." Advertisement There have been flashpoints during his 2½ seasons at Molineux — which started with a five-month loan spell in January 2023 — but now is the time to relax, knowing he has realised his ambition. He added: 'It's the perfect time to come here and now I need to be calm. I've learned from my mistakes. 'There is not one player who does not come here and think about the glory days, all the times they won the Premier League. 'I want to put this club on top and do everything to help them conquer these things.' Advertisement Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from Old Trafford
