Levein Had A Hand In Saints Cup Win

Dundee United manager Craig Levein might have had a hand in Motherwell’s Scottish Cup downfall on Wednesday night, after being seen plotting with Saints boss Owen Coyle

Levein and Saint Johnstone manager Coyle were spotted together having an Italian meal in Perth on Tuesday afternoon, possibly discussing tactics and deciding the best way of defeating Motherwell.

Or maybe it was Levein taking advice from Owen Coyle on how best to approach a match against Maurice Malpas’ side – since Dundee United take on Motherwell at Tannadice in the SPL next weekend.

Its common knowledge that Craig Levein likes to do his homework on opposition sides and he was most likely one of the many spectators watching Peter MacDonald give Saint Johnstone a 21st minute lead against ‘Well.

Former Dundee United striker Jason Scotland put the Saints 2-0 ahead with just 20 minutes remaining, but Motherwell pulled a goal back with a late 81st minute strike from Ross McCormack.

The result means the Perth side have beaten 4 out of 5 SPL clubs they’ve faced in cup competitions this season, including convincing wins over Dundee United(3-0) and Rangers(2-0) in the CIS Insurance Cup and beating Falkirk(3-0) and Motherwell(2-1) in the Scottish Cup.

Hibernian are the only SPL side to win against the Saints so far this season, knocking them out of the Semi-Final of the CIS Insurance Cup 3-1 at the end of January.

Saint Johnstone will face either Hibs, Dunfermline or Celtic in the semi-final stages of the Scottish Cup, but after their recent successes over SPL sides, its unlikely they will fear facing any of them.