Considering that before Saturday, St Johnstone had last lost in the league away from home on August 27 up in Inverness, the result and scoreline against Dundee was surprising to say the least.
Saints had more possession, shots and corners than the home side but the stat which mattered most, that of goals scored, was wholly in the Dark Blues’ favour.
Dens boss Paul Hartley deserves a lot of credit for changing his formation following the late call-offs of skipper Darren O’Dea and Kevin Gomis because of sickness while James Vincent failed a late fitness test.
Kosta Gadzhalov and Julen Etxabeguren didn’t put a foot wrong in the centre of defence while Faissal El Bakhtaoui arguably had his best game for Dundee since joining the club from Dunfermline in the summer.
Mark O’Hara was also a dynamic presence but everyone in dark blue will head into the winter break on a high following this result.
In contrast, Saints will be left licking their wounds although McDiarmid boss Tommy Wright insisted he could not be too hard on his players as he felt they performed well in defeat.
Certainly, it would have been interesting if Blair Alston’s thunderous free-kick that struck the crossbar when Dundee were just 1-0 up had been just a couple of inches lower.
However, that’s all ifs, buts and maybes.
It was a bad day at the office for Saints but one to savour for the Dark Blues with a potentially-priceless three points in the bag.
