ST JOHNSTONE 2 MOTHERWELL 1
Michael O’Halloran’s pace has never been in question.
But the Saints winger seems to have fine-tuned his sense of timing.
The former Bolton and Celtic wide man helped rejuvenated striker Steven MacLean cap a comeback win to net the first three points of the campaign.
And his latest dazzling display was noted from a seat in the main stand by Scotland manager Gordon Strachan.
The 24-year-old terrified the Well defence and a weaving run 11 minutes from the end was capped by a low driven cross bundled home by MacLean, who had levelled an early Motherwell counter in similar style from a Graeme Cummins delivery.
Midfielder David Wotherspoon also had an impact within minutes of coming off the bench, paving the way to the 63rd minute equaliser with his touch and vision as Saints transformed a match dominated by the Steelmen in the opening half.
Wotherspoon admitted: “Mikey has been electric. I’m going to call him Magic Mike from now on.
“He’s probably got a Magic Mike six pack as well! He’s a great pro who keeps himself in top shape.
“We just give the ball to him and he causes lots of problems for defences. He was going down the outside a lot then finally he cut inside and set up the winner. He needs to mix it up but he’s very dangerous because of his pace and his power.
“When he is in full flight it’s hard to get the ball off him and he helped get us the win. Boys who are that fast quickly know how to cause defenders problems and Michael has done that. I think defenders are scared of him now.”
The clean sheet demanded by manager Tommy Wright again proved elusive but a year ago a similar comeback win against Well boosted McDiarmid morale.
Wotherspoon admitted: “The boys are buzzing to have that winning feeling. I was happy at my performance.
“But it was a team performance and we showed great character to come back to win. Both goals were well taken by Steven MacLean.
“I don’t want to be labelled an impact sub, though. I want to start but the next best thing is to come on and influence the game and help your team.”
Saints slipped behind, yet again, with Brian Easton allowing winger Lionel Ainsworth space to deliver the cross for Louis Moult to convert from close range after just 11 minutes, despite the close attention of Joe Shaughnessy.
Within seconds Tam Scobbie’s troubled start to the season continued when a misjudged clearance bid presented the former Wexham attacker with a chance to go head to head with keeper Alan Mannus. Fortunately for the errant defender the keeper snaked out a stretching leg to divert the shot.
Wotherspoon admitted: “We are making it hard for ourselves and I think it’s a wee bit down to nerves and how we started the season.
“The boys were a wee bit nervous before the game but towards the end we were more settled. We took the game to Motherwell and we got the result.
“I don’t know why we are nervous. If we concede a goal early it’s hard. We just need to calm down a bit because we’ve been causing our own problems.
“It’s still early in the season. There’s only five games gone but getting a win at home is great. We’ve got a tough week ahead of us Celtic away and it’s good to approach that game with a win.”
Saints had struggled to open up the visitors but five minutes from half-time Well keeper Connor Ripley twice denied MacLean with spectacular saves and the Perth side proceeded to dictate the pattern of play throughout the second period.
Lively centre Cummins struck the crossbar with a header from Chris Millar’s cross before MacLean took his tally to three in 180 minutes, emulating his tally for last season.
In the closing minutes Well midfielder Jake Taylor was sent off for a second yellow card offence, with referee Craig Thomson deciding he had dived seeking a penalty.
Fir Park assistant Steve Robinson’s reaction attracted the attention of fourth official Crawford Allan and he joined Taylor heading up the tunnel, with manager Ian Barraclough insisting there had been “contact” which warranted the award of a spot-kick.
Perth manager Wright acknowledged that keeper Mannus made a crucial save at 1-0 and he admitted a sense of frustration at the unfortunate habit of leaking early goals.
But he noted: “Over the 90 minutes we deserved to win. We showed the character to stay in the game and the second half display was what we wanted.”
Scottish Cup final goal hero MacLean admitted his dad had been his biggest critic, reminding him of a year-long goal drought.
But Wright, who hailed Wotherspoon’s impact in the closing half hour, noted: “I am pleased he got his goals. I know Macca was getting a bit of stick but I was more than happy with his overall contribution otherwise I would not have been playing him.”