Stephen Kenny Post Challenge Cup Final

"We had so many chances in the first half as well, we had two or three great chances before half time to make it three - two. We got the penalty and got back into it.

Stephen Kenny felt that the decision to award St Johnstone a 12^th minute penalty was extremely harsh.  He told the post match press conference:-

"We shouldn't have conceded goals as easily as we did straight after that.  We gave ourselves an awful lot to do.  In pursuit of trying to retrieve the situation I thought we were outstanding in the second half.

"It was a great effort to try and come back from three nil when we looked like we were dead and buried.Neutrals would have felt that we would probably have lost by more but to come back the way we did and create as many chances in the second half, hitting the bar twice - Darren Young and their defender (Stanic). Alan Main made a few important saves as well.So it was a real good effort. The players were tremendous really overall.

"We were a bit sloppy the way we started and got punished for that.

"We had so many chances in the first half as well, we had two or three great chances before half time to make it three - two.  We got the penalty and got back into it.  Alan Main made a few good saves, we hit the bar but just couldn't get the goal.

"The effort was tremendous, you couldn't fault anyone really. We have eight games coming up between December 1^st and January 5^th - if we play the way we did in the last hour of that game I think we will win quite a lot.

"We lost the Cup Final and we are disappointed.  We worked hard to get into it, it was a really good performance, just poor defending for the goals.It was an iffy penalty to concede for the first one and it wasn't great for about a 10 minute spell.  St Johnstone punished us.

"They are a good side St Johnstone, we congratulate St Johnstone on their victory.  I thought it was an outstanding game really, you will do to get a better game this season anywhere, to come back made it an exciting game.

"We have got Dundee at home next week and we will prepare accordingly and try and win.

"The players are disappointed, the put a lot into it.I am very proud of them, they made mistakes for the goals and got punished but that's not deliberate.I am very proud of their efforts second half to try and retrieve the situation. You are talking about millimetres of post or crossbars. Overall it is difficult to divide the teams, St Johnstone had their spell and we had ours.It was a very, very narrow thing."

Stephen Kenny changed to a 3-5-2 with the first half substitution of Calum Woods.  Darren Young was added into midfield but he reflected that he had not previously had the personnel to try that system -

"It worked quite well.St Johnstone changed the system themselves and it was working for them.It worked quite well and it is something that I will have to sit down and think about."