St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright piled praise on Murray Davidson after the midfielder marked his return from injury with a winning goal.
Davidson had been sidelined since damaging his knee in the game against St Mirren in Paisley on December 26 but looked sharp and fit as he pounced to shoot home on 77 minutes to beat Livingston 1-0 at McDiarmid Park last night.
Wright insisted it wasn’t a gamble to play him from the start, despite Davidson having no game time for a month and very little training.
The Saints boss said: “I couldn’t do it with any other player.
“There are very few people who can be out for that length of time and have so little football and come back like that.
“He has probably had two full training sessions.
“That is what he does. He will go through a brick wall for you.
“He had a very good game and I’m pleased he got a goal.
“It wasn’t really seen as a gamble to play him, if you know the player. That takes the level of risk out of it.”
Most of the game was a source of frustration from Saints, with Livi set up well by gaffer Gary Holt and making it hard to get through their defence.
Wright, like the fans, was chilled to the bone on a chilly evening in Perth but his team’s fourth win on the trot warmed him up a fair bit.
“It was a cold night!” he said.
“I think at times it was difficult. It was like a war of attrition at times.
“There wasn’t much between the two sides.
“Neither keeper was really troubled and both had similar saves to make in terms of long-range freekicks that they dealt with.
“In terms of clear-cut openings, though, there weren’t a lot.
“I can be disappointed with the fact that we didn’t play as well as we would have liked but it is the sign of a good side that you keep a clean sheet and get the victory.
“We did produce that moment of quality that makes the difference in the game.
“It was a great header and Muz (Davidson) does great to follow it up.
“It’s three points and Livingston are a difficult side to play against so I’ll take the win.
“At this stage of the season every win is going to be vital.”
