St Johnstone’s ever-improving season has got a once in a generation result.
The Perth side secured the first McDiarmid Park victory over Rangers in 12 years and it was manager Callum Davidson’s breakthrough league victory over either Old Firm team.
They all thoroughly deserved their Sunday afternoon celebrations in the late autumn sun.
An occasion like this demands special goals to remember it by and Saints certainly delivered on that front.
James Brown opened the scoring with a fierce 25-yard drive just before half-time – the first time he’s hit the back of the net in his career.
And before James Tavernier set up a tense finish, Stevie May produced a superb assist that was matched by Nicky Clark’s near post run and finish.
Courier Sport picks out three talking points from a game that will live long in the memory.
Lift-off
Three wins in the league and up to fifth in the league – St Johnstone’s season is gaining serious momentum.
They weren’t at their best in the first half but there’s a solidity that keeps them in games even when the passing football isn’t top notch.
And even against the best teams in the league.
That’s been the case pretty much from day one.
The change is that May and Clark are a strike partnership who have gelled beyond any realistic hope or expectation Davidson must have had when he signed the latter from Dundee United.
😱 𝐄𝐂𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐓 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄 😱
Nicky Clark's magical finish makes it 2-0 against Rangers 🚨 pic.twitter.com/51h2BUvKTp
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) November 6, 2022
The second half was a masterclass of how to get up the pitch against the Old Firm and the goal they produced between each other was striker combination play at its best.
Saints now have two winnable games left before the league goes on hold.
They’ve got a chance to make it a very enjoyable break for all their supporters.
In fact, they already have.
Cometh the hour cometh the back-up goalie
You had to go back six months for the last time Elliott Parish played in a Premiership game (a last-day dead rubber at Easter Road) and a few weeks before that for one that mattered.
Rangers were the opposition too on that occasion.
In for Remi Matthews, who hopefully won’t be out for long with a hip injury, Parish preserved his zero for longer than in March.
Glen Kamara scored after three minutes back then.
He had a wobbly moment early in this contest, taking two attempts to deal with a bread-and-butter back post Tavernier cross.
But getting down well to his left to keep out a low John Lundstram shot not long after settled the former Dundee man down.
After that, most of his first half work was dealing with corners. A lot of corners.
He could do nothing about a Fashion Sakala header from one of them that struck the crossbar but that was the only near thing.
He could also do nothing about a Lundstram 70th minute 20-yard shot that hit the outside of his right hand post before it went past.
Tavernier’s goal came through a crowded box. Parish would have been disappointed he didn’t keep it out, though.
After that the stand-in goalie was flawless, with a far post save from a Tavernier downward header his big moment.
A goalkeeper who suffered during the League Cup has played his part in a famous St Johnstone victory.
Spoony World Cup bound?
A fortnight short of a year since his cruciate knee injury, David Wotherspoon was a St Johnstone starter again.
As part of a midfield three without a natural ball-winner, it was a tough shift in the first half for the three-time cup winner.
You could say the same for Melker Hallberg and Graham Carey actually.
Without Ryan McGowan in the heart of the pitch, Saints were too easy to play through.
But when they eventually put a few passes together towards the end of the 45, Wotherspoon was right in the thick of it, first when the hosts had a flowing move down the right and then when he worked the ball into May, whose shot was charged down before Brown scored his goal of the season contender.
His class and composure was on full show when Saints enjoyed their best passage of play after the restart before he understandably tired and was taken off with 10 minutes to go.
It hasn’t been a great weekend for Canada manager John Herdman, with one of his goalkeepers breaking a leg and star turn, Alphonso Davies, coming off injured for Bayern Munich nearly two weeks away from their World Cup opening fixture against Belgium.
Wotherspoon’s performance, as part of a stunning result for his club, will have cheered Herdman up a bit, though.
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