First Team
Shaughnessy reflects on Killie draw
26th November 2018
Although the winning run came to an end on Saturday it was yet another clean sheet for a Saints defence that is fast becoming known as one of the toughest to break down in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
At the heart of that backline is Saints' skipper - Joe Shaughnessy - and the Irishman was one of the standout performers in the 0-0 stalemate with Kilmarnock on Saturday afternoon.
Looking back on the game, Joe thinks that the result was a fair one between two evenly matched sides.
"We knew it was going to be tough," the club captain said, "we knew what to expect and how they were likely to play. Steve Clarke has made them a very tough side to beat since he arrived there.
"I think we dealt with everything that was thrown at us and on reflection the draw was probably just about right."
It's six-in-a-row now in terms of clean sheets for Saints and it's a record that Joe and his fellow teammates are delighted with.
"It's always nice to keep these things going and I think we were pretty solid again," Joe said.
"Zander has had to make a fantastic stop in the second half from Stewart but apart from that I don't think he had too much to do. We kept them at bay for the majority of the match.
"If Matty scores near the end we maybe nick the three points and I think most of us thought it was in! It felt like it was one of the games where a moment of individual brilliance would win it as chances were at a premium.
"I think he played well as a whole throughout the match and if he had scored it would have been the icing on the cake for him."
With Celtic's involvement in the Betfred Cup Final next weekend, Saints do not now play until a week on Wednesday when Hearts visit McDiarmid Park. And Joe admits he'd rather just get on with the game now.
"I think as a player you always just want to keep playing especially when we're on such a good run," he said.
"It is what it is though and we'll get a couple of days off before we're back in and working hard preparing for the match against what is a very good Hearts side."
PICTURED:Joe wearing a specialised captain's armband as part of Stonewall Scotland's Rainbow Laces campaign.