Chris Kane contested, the ball looped up and dropped inches over the line.
There was a slight pause. A silence. Then the stadium erupted. Perhaps like it never has before.
Grabbing the nearest person was the only option and whether a lifelong friend or complete stranger, nobody cared. It didn’t matter. Some would find themselves in a new postcode after drifting rows from their original starting point in celebration. Also didn’t matter.
St Johnstone had just levelled against Galatasaray. This was a defining moment. Not for the end result but for the potential longer-term impact. It was the kind of experience that you would hope has ignited a passion and inspired many to return on a regular basis.
More than nine thousand home supporters witnessed it and every single one of them would have felt the buzz and electricity sweeping around the packed-out Perth arena. For kids at their first ever game of football? Surely they will want to return.
For those who can only occasionally make it to McDiarmid Park? There will be a desire to clear the schedule more often. And even for the diehard Saintee who never misses a game? They would have fallen deeper in love.
It wasn’t just about the aforementioned celebratory scenes, it was the whole package. Earlier in the day the city centre’s streets were laced with excitable fans already donning club colours. The Caledonian Bar, in particular, was a sea of blue and white.
Home of the European fanzone, the Tulloch Institute, more than played its part in helping to keep the feel-good factor rolling right up until kick-off. And then there was the pre-match flag display.
These displays don’t happen overnight and credit must go to all who pitched in with efforts to produce a wall of colour and noise as the players appeared from the tunnel. You forever remember an atmosphere like that.
Credit must also go to ticket office staff who put in the long hours to ensure this night of magnitude received the crowd it deserved.
On the field, Saints again did themselves proud and after 154 minutes of the two-legged contest they had matched Galatasaray. Even when the full-time whistle signalled a 5-3 aggregate defeat, there remained a sense of what could have been. That tells its own story.
“If you’d told me we would go two hours of football with Galatasaray and be level with them, then I couldn’t have been happier,” manager Callum Davidson smiled. “They are football players and they want to win, so they are disappointed.
“But I just said in there: ‘You can walk out the stadium with your heads held high.’”
There were a number of special performances - none more so than that of midfielder Ali McCann. He looked completely at home on this grand stage.
His journey to the top - he made his debut in 2018 as a second half substitute against Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill - has been a special watch and his price-tag continues to rise. It is surely inevitable that a number of clubs will be preparing offers.
“I’m not going to single anyone out,” Davidson said. “Ali knows what I think of him.
“I thought his performance was really high, along with others. It’s unfair to single him out but he was excellent.”
Those keen to sample another European night in the Fair City need not wait long. In less than two weeks McDiarmid Park will welcome Austrian side LASK in the UEFA Conference League play-off round. They defeated Vojvodina of Serbia 7-1 over two legs.
It will present another huge challenge for Saints but, with group stage football on the line, another bumper crowd is a must. Find a space in your diary for the evening of August 26.
