Saints’ Euro dream washed away in Norway as Myhre magic dashes £2m jackpot hope

THEIR European dreams were swept away in a torrent of rain and tears.

But once they dry their clothes and wipe their eyes, the Buddies will remember this European adventure with nothing but pride.

2

As a monsoon swept across the Brann Stadion, two late, late goals ended an adventure that a town and its club had waited 37 years to enjoy.

What a blast Stephen Robinson, his players and their amazing fans have had, though – and surely now they’ll come back even hungrier to make sure they don’t wait nearly as long for another crack at the big time.

Just as last week in Paisley, they found themselves a goal down and fighting for their lives against this excellent Norwegian outfit.

Yet just as last week, they refused to lie down.

And, just as last week, their gaffer’s substitutions did the trick and hauled them right back into it.

Then, it was the fresh legs of James Scott and Toyosi Olusanya combining for a last-gasp equaliser.

Now, it was young Fraser Taylor delivering a corner that Alex Iacovitti soared to bullet home with a header that sent 750 travelling fans wild and sparked an incredible touchline pile-on of players and coaches.

The pair had barely been on the pitch two minutes, yet they’d changed the whole tone of a thrilling tie played out in a ferocious atmosphere at this packed arena.

Right then, with just under 15 minutes to go, their tails were up.

Right then, black and white army of supporters had one eye on the action and the other on their phones as they looked up flights to Kazakhstan.

One more goal and, incredibly, their heroes would be heading to face FC Astana for a place in the Conference League group stages.

One kick of the ball would land their board a jackpot upwards of £2million.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be; the main reason for that being a wonderful midfielder called Felix Myhre.

His crisp volley had given Brann the lead in the first leg and inside six minutes here he was bamboozling Alex Gogic down the left to set up Joachim Soltvedt for a sweet side-foot finish low to keeper Ellery Balcombe’s right.

This place went crazy. Flares and smoke bombs went off, scarves were held aloft, songs boomed out.

But the Saints weren’t done by a long way, delivering the kind of performance Robinson had promised after admitting they’d been a shadow of their best selves in the first leg.

Not that there weren’t scares, mind. Seven minutes after the break, home striker Bard Finne latched onto yet another brilliant piece of work from Myhre, tried to round Balcombe and hit the deck.

The Verdict

How they rated

St Mirren: Balcombe 7, Fraser 7, Gogic 6, R Taylor 7 (Iacovitti 6), Rooney 7, Adeniran 7, Boyd-Munce 6 (Smyth 5), Idowu 5 (F Taylor 5), Brown 7, Olusanya 7 (Scott 4), Ayunga 5 (Mandron 4).

Subs: Urminsky, Kelly, Tanser, Kenny, F Taylor, Mooney, Sutherland, Bwomono.

Booked: Idowu, R Taylor, Smyth, Gogic. 

The home fans screamed for a penalty – then hurled a hail of beer cups at the keeper as Bulgarian ref Radoslav Gidzhenov instead booked their man for diving.

Then, it started to turn as those changes kicked in. Oisin Smyth, on for Caolan Boyd-Munce, forced keeper Mathias Dyngeland into a desperate save from his very first touch, before Taylor and Iacovitti combined for a moment no one who made this trip will forget.

Now, as the rain swept ever heavier, the surface was getting more treacherous and it felt like one slip on either side could decide this one.

Five minutes from time, it came when Gogic lost his footing, cleaned out a red shirt, then was outjumped by Myhre when the free-kick led to Niklas Castro hanging up an inviting cross.

Cue more flares and smoke bombs, following by more missiles and booing as VAR checked for offside against Castro.

Sadly for Saints, the goal stood – and was followed almost immediately by a third, young Taylor and Jayden Brown getting a tangle to let Aune Heggebo nip in and hammer past Balcombe from a tight angle.

The adventure was over. 

But not before close on 14,000 home fans gave the Saints support a ovation that was every bit as deserved as the one that support then gave their beaten heroes.

Our New YouTube Channel

Subscribe to our new Scottish Sun Sport YouTube channel for all the latest football news, views and amazing moments.

We’ve got every major development covered from Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and the rest of the Scottish Premiership.

Plus we have TWO brilliant new podcasts to watch every week…

MONDAY

Go Ballistic with Roger Hannah and special guest Kris Boyd will dissect all the weekend action and deliver their no-holds-barred reaction.

WEDNESDAY

Robert Grieve and Bill Leckie chew over the tastiest topics in Scottish football and offer their unique takes in their Coffee Club.

FRIDAY

Go Ballistic is back with Roger Hannah and top tipster Jim Delahunt looking ahead to the weekend games and analysing the biggest talking points.

Subscribe now and don’t miss a thing.

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page