St Johnstone’s win against St Mirren may only have moved them up one position in the table but it’s been a while since Perth fans left McDiarmid Park feeling as positive about their team after a league game.
It was the biggest home victory in the Premiership since Callum Davidson took charge.
Courier Sport picks out three talking points from the 3-0 triumph.
Precious points
St Johnstone weren’t bottom of the 12 before they played St Mirren.
They weren’t in the play-off position.
And they weren’t winless.
But there was no disguising the importance of this match.
The St Mirren fixture has been looming large for some time – a light at the end of a dark tunnel of matches in which the Perth side have been second favourites.
The first game after the transfer window closes always feels like a second start to the season and that was undoubtedly the case for Saints.
They had the long-awaited new number nine in their team and the opportunity to start a run of four games against probable bottom six sides with a performance and result to change the background music.
👏A debut goal for Nicky Clark as St Johnstone beat St Mirren 3-0.
Here are all the goals from McDiarmid Park⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NejkwsFglR
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 3, 2022
It was far from perfect (and wasn’t as one-sided as the emphatic scoreline suggests) but it was a big step forward.
Gaps to St Mirren, Motherwell and Livingston that could have become worryingly large, even this early in the campaign, are now nothing of the sort.
It’s far too early to describe Saturday’s win as a new dawn.
But after that tension-lifting Graham Carey penalty was smashed past Trevor Carson, it did feel like one of those afternoons that could end up being a significant one worthy of reflection when the season is done.
Central midfield
The back three was as solid as it’s been for every home game so far this season (and two of the three away games as well).
And up front, as Davidson pointed out, Nicky Clark and Stevie May both played big parts in securing this victory.
Central midfield wasn’t an area of comparable domination, however.
Melker Hallberg or Carey alongside a ball-winner is a good balance but it’s not a partnership you would expect to see getting a long run together.
Neither is a natural tackler, nor possesses the capacity to do those off-the-ball sideways shuttles that are so essential to the position.
There was one occasion early in the second half when St Mirren were camping themselves in the hosts’ half and Clark did his best to hold the ball up, while getting his head up to look for assistance.
A gaping hole remained where a simple ball infield from the touchline should have been an option.
Given St Mirren didn’t create many good opportunities – certainly not through the heart of the pitch – it would be far too big a leap to suggest this was a selection Davidson got away with.
First and foremost, his options were very limited, given injuries and Daniel Phillips’ Tynecastle struggle.
But if Murray Davidson is fit for the trip to Kilmarnock, I’d expect him to return.
Wing-back to wing-back
For the two wing-backs, this was a highpoint in the campaign.
Drey Wright dropping his shoulder and beating his man on the outside, then delivering a cross to the back post was a moment of individual quality that set in motion the opening goal.
It was a reminder of the form he showed in his first spell with Saints and the benefits the wing-back formation can bring a team when the play is switched quickly from one side of the pitch to the other, as it was on this occasion.
Montgomery might have his flaws going back the way but that's a superb bit of football to sit the St Mirren defender down and pick out Drey Wright https://t.co/DpR8GfMaJd
— Eric Nicolson (@C_ENicolson) September 3, 2022
Adam Montgomery has made some poor defensive decisions in the early weeks of his loan from Celtic but he certainly doesn’t lack composure and awareness of who is around him when he’s picked out in the other box, as was the case when May slipped him in for the second goal move.
It was no easy task to find Wright in a crowded box.
There was stiff competition but this was the pass of the match.
That the goal ended up being wing-back to wing-back was a reminder of how important these two men – or whoever is deployed in their positions – are to the success of this team in its current guise.
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