Brave St Johnstone's Europa League hopes were ended by Turkish giants Galatasaray, despite an impressive performance in front a packed McDiarmid park.Chris Kane scored an equaliser to Mbaye Diagne’s opener, as the Scots kept up with their distinguished opponents following last week's 1-1 draw.Kerem Akturkoglu's goals, Sofiane Feghouli's and Emre Kilinc's goals sent Perth to the Europa Conference League, despite Michael O'Halloran's last minute consolation.After their 7-1 aggregate win against Vojvodina, Serbia, Callum Davidson's team will now face LASK from Austria for a spot in the group stage Uefa’s third-tier competition.After having matched Galatasaray on most of the legs, St Johnstone will be confident in tackling that tie. However, this was only the beginning. The second-half is in Perth.They were supported by a rare full-house who roared at each tackle.They instead put their feet on the ball and won a corner. Kerr rose high to pass the ball to Kane at the back post. Kane was waiting to challenge Ismail Cipe, before he got the slightest touch to the ball to push it home.They could have had more and should have been a man to be proud of Kane's relentless pursuit of the goal. Marcao tripped Kane when he had a clear shot on goal.Galatasaray displayed flashes of brilliance through some clever passing and cut St Johnstone open again when Akturkoglu rushed into the box to force home the dangerous Akturkoglu after Arda Turan’s charming backheel had left Jamie McCart scrambling.St Johnstone fought until the end. However, the tie was effectively broken when Akturkoglu brought his influence again. His fizzed pass to Feghouli found Akturkoglu, who cleverly stepped in Kerr before firing low through Clark.Galatasaray's Kilinc scored a fourth goal to make it four. He took advantage of a rare moment of panic at the St Johnstone defense, but O'Halloran struck in the final seconds to make sure the final result reflected the bravery of his side.Kerem Akturkoglu was named Man of the MatchAkturkoglu's speed and final ball were the difference between the teams, scoring a goal and two assists.What have we learned?St Johnstone displayed another impressive performance to match the first leg at Istanbul. However, Galatasaray was more decisive than they were at home.Akturkoglu was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch. He cut St Johnstone open twice through his excellent passes and then added another to tie the game.He was not far behind Saints' Ali McCann in terms of performance. This young talent, who drove forward with ball and worked his socks off, played a crucial role in winning possession back as Davidson's side snuffed their threat for large periods.They can be proud of their performance and will support LASK in the Conference League playoff.They said it!Callum Davidson, manager of St Johnstone: "The players never gave in and I couldn't ask for more." Although our heads could have fallen, they didn't. We were defeated by a high-quality side who were just trying to qualify for Champions League."It's an amazing experience for the players, and hopefully we can move a bit further now that we are in Conference League."What's next?St Johnstone will be away to Arbroath for the League Cup last 16 on Saturday (14:00 BST), just before their Conference League playoff first leg next Thursday.
