St Johnstone secured their first home victory since the start of October at the weekend and their fans left McDiarmid Park full of hope that a surge to Premiership safety is now realistic.
Courier Sport picks out three talking points from the 2-1 triumph against third-placed Hearts.
The real St Johnstone are back
“I got back to enjoying watching us play again.”
No wonder.
Callum Davidson has a proper St Johnstone team to manage once more.
Formations, tactical tweaks and substitutions are all crucial parts of football and you’ll never settle a debate on who is right or wrong when they get kicked about.
But when you see a group of 11 men going about their work with purpose and ingenuity – and supporters react off the back of it – none of the above seem quite so important.
Davidson spoke about the 90-minute performance he had been waiting for.
That didn’t mean 90 minutes’ dominance of Hearts or even 90 minutes of creating the better opportunities to score.
It meant doing the right things at the right time.
The start was about intent, and produced a pass and move goal of real quality.
There were sections of the game when it was about maintaining their shape and not drifting back into a ‘what we have, we hold’ mindset.
Melker Hallberg and the young wing-backs had key roles to play in that regard.
📺🎙| Melker Hallberg spoke to SaintsTV after yesterday's 2-1 victory over @Jamtarts
Played through an injury 💪
2 assists 2️⃣
Loved the support 🎉#SJFC pic.twitter.com/Y3l17WS5jY— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) February 20, 2022
Had they started to sit-in, this would probably have been a different, more familiar, conclusion.
And when it came down to the last stage there was a ‘thou shalt not pass’ stubborn defiance.
Davidson isn’t the only one who feels he has the real St Johnstone back.
The supporters have been re-energised and the connection between stand and pitch, which threatened to be broken in a corner of Kelty terracing, appears stronger for the pre and post-Christmas ordeals.
Successful survival campaigns need a season-changer.
Faith in Ali Crawford rewarded
Since the mid-season break, Davidson has used seven players to cover the midfield three positions.
The number of minutes played are – Jacob Butterfield 587, Ali Crawford 538, Murray Davidson 368, Cammy MacPherson 275, Melker Hallberg 273, Charlie Gilmour 187 and Liam Craig 32.
For Crawford to be just short of Butterfield is quite the show of faith in a player who, you suspect, would have been closer to the bottom than the top of any festive season fans’ poll of their chosen regulars for the resumption of the campaign.
The announcement of his loan deal from Bolton Wanderers being turned into a permanent one – and a two-and-a-half year contract at that – was met with a lukewarm reception at best.
As one of the players who didn’t have ‘double-winner’ to his name when form dips were spreading through the Saints team, Crawford was an obvious compare and contrast fall guy, particularly when the nearest like for like in the squad was the star of both cup runs, David Wotherspoon.
With other midfielders recruited in January, it would have come as no shock if the former Hamilton Accies man had drifted to the fringes, posting Gilmour’s or even Craig’s appearance numbers.
Davidson was confident, though, that in a more robust and dynamic team, Crawford would show his real worth.
And so it has proved.
He is a game-changer with a nose for a late run into the box and a clinical finish – making both skills look far easier than they are.
With structure, mobility and discipline around him he has thrived.
Jamie McCart with the winner! 👊
Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between St Johnstone and Hearts ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/H3BEiFR1a7
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) February 19, 2022
Crawford’s three league goals have now contributed to three league wins.
You really don’t need to dig any further than that for evidence that he is an essential part of this team and central to St Johnstone’s aspirations of Premiership survival.
All blue
We’ll soon find out where Davidson is on the superstitious scale.
Blue shorts gave Saints a new look for the afternoon.
And seeing as the match didn’t pan out too badly, there are plenty of fans who quite like the idea of sticking with the new ‘lucky kit’.
The hottest topic of the night…
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) February 19, 2022
The red and white change strip will be used for the next match in Dingwall, so there’s a bit of time for minds to be made up.
Given Davidson started his career playing for Paul Sturrock, a manager who jumped on any omen that came his way (wearing John Davies’ coat until an unbeaten streak came to an end was probably the best/daftest one) Saints supporters might not have seen the last of their all blue team.
