Wright eyes place in group stages

26 July 2013 06:46

St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright has dared his men to dream of a place in the Europa League group stages after they stunned Norwegian heavyweights Rosenborg.

The Perth side's 2-1 aggregate win over the former Champions League quarter-finalists has set up a third qualifying round clash with FC Minsk.

Now Wright has urged his men to carry the same self-confidence into next Thursday's first leg in Belarus as they showed in dismissing the current Norwegian league leaders from the competition.

He said: "It was magnificent. It could not have gone any better for us. I think it will only be in the morning that we will realise the magnitude of the result.

"Now we face a rush to find out about Minsk

"We want the journey to continue. I told the players they would look back on this night with a lot of pride and satisfaction long after they've finished playing.

"But we dared to believe that we could beat Rosenborg and now we're saying let's see how far we can go. You want to get through the next round and the play-off and into the Europa League group. And on the standard they've set over these two games that wouldn't be unreachable."

St Johnstone led from the first leg in Trondheim thanks to Frazer Wright's winner but fell behind in the Perth return after just four minutes at McDiarmid.

Alexander Soderlund - the 14-cap Norway international making his first start for the club - held off two challenges before bundling a low shot through Wright's legs and past the stationary Alan Mannus.

But 20-year-old hometown boy Stevie May made himself a Perth hero when he combined with David Wotherspoon - another raised in the Fair City - to prod past Daniel Orlund after the Rosenborg stopper had got himself into a mess with defender Mikael Dorsin.

Source: PA