Max Johnston ready for his big Sturm Graz night as he makes a friend in former Motherwell star

Max Johnston is looking to keep the Scottish flag flying in European football tonight.

The Scotland under-21 cap is in line to make his debut in Europe this evening for Sturm Graz. The Austrians entertain Slovan Bratislava in the first-leg of their knockout stages of the Europa Conference League.

Johnston admitted: “I am looking forward to it. “I haven’t been involved in Europe before so it will be something different. “It will be our first game in the Conference League. “We have watched a lot of clips on Slovan Bratislava. “They are a strong team who have a lot of experience in European competition. “We have to be ready for it.” Sturm Graz initially went into the Champions League qualifiers and dropped down from the Europa League. It will be the first time they have been in the knockout stages after Christmas for more than two decades.

"There is a bit of excitement about the game because it is the first time that Sturm Graz have been in the knockout stages of Europe for more than 20 years,” the former Motherwell player confirmed. “I think it is 23 years, so it has been a long time coming. Hopefully, we can get the win because that would give us a bit of confidence going into another big game against Rapid Vienna at the weekend.”

Johnston will join Scott McKenna in Champions League action after he made his Champions League debut against Manchester City on Tuesday evening. Kieran Tierney’s Real Sociedad are up against PSG in the Champions League but he will miss the game through injury.
The 20-year-old swapped Fir Park for Graz in the summer. He went in after pre-season and it took him time to adjust but he now feels good and ready to make a top team impact. Johnston has come back from the winter break in top shape and