It’s high spirits after Jags win
High-scoring Saints earn praise
St Johnstone under-20s manager Alex Cleland is looking ahead with confidence after Tuesday’s victory against Partick Thistle.
Doubles from Craig Thomson and new loan signing Denny Johnstone allowed the Saints to open their Development League home account with a 4-2 triumph.
Cleland, who doubles up as a first team coach, was pleased with the performance of a squad who can boast a number of promising youth players.
“We’re pleased to score four but were a little disappointed with the goals we lost,” he said. “We would have liked to score more in the second half and we created a lot of chances. If we picked the right options we would have scored more.
“It’s a younger team again this season but we have real excitement in the squad. There were guys on the bench who would probably have played if the first team boys weren’t in.
“They are desperate to play and show what they can do. It’s disappointing for them to miss out but there will be plenty of opportunities for them during the season to get their games. We’re looking forward to this season, we have a good group, and we can push on.”
Early signs would suggest that the young Perth squad were in for a difficult evening. Goalkeeper Mark Hurst was forced to pull off a spectacular save with his right foot to deny a Neil McLaughlin attempt. He then watched as Kevin Nisbet’s deflected follow up came back off the cross bar.
That early storm, albeit brief, was weathered and Saints soon reversed the flow of pressure. So much so that in the 13th minute Thomson dinked a clever cross for recent loan signing Johnstone to slot into the back of the net.
While Thomson was the architect for the opener, he soon got his own name on the scoresheet. He used his pace to burst through on goal before casually navigating the ball beyond Ryan Scully.
Partick did pull one back in the 27th minute after neat work on the edge of the box led to McLaughlin drilling a low strike into the bottom corner. Hurst had no chance of keeping his clean sheet intact.
It could have given the visitors the momentum but Saints quickly set about restoring their two goal advantage.
Thomson was again the man to find the net with a strike which clipped a Thistle defender and nestled in the corner.
There was to be a fourth on the stroke of half time and it was a goal Euan O’Reilly (left) and Jamie Docherty impressed. Pic: Martin Hawkins engineered by Jamie Docherty, whose clever footwork created space to provide the assist. Johnstone raced onto the perfectly weighted through ball before slipping underneath Scully.
That looked to be game, set and match. But Partick hoisted themselves back into the contest early in the second half when McLaughlin calmly slotted home.
The Firhill side’s cause wasn’t helped in the 67th minute when Harry Granger picked up a second caution for taking Euan O’Reilly out.
And, from there, the McDiarmid Park side comfortably held on to their lead.
Cleland added: “It was a good performance and we managed to get first team players down. It was important that they got game time.
“They all came through it really well and it was good to see Denny Johnstone because he was saying he hasn’t played 90 minutes.
“All of the first team boys were good and the young boys responded well off that. I thought Euan O’Reilly and Jamie Docherty in the wide areas were excellent.”
Saints’ team: Hurst, Lumsden, Cameron Thomson, Millar, Gilchrist, Quigley, O’Reilly (Robertson 84), McCann, Johnstone, Thomson, Docherty. Subs not used: Sinclair, Brian, Wilson, Struthers, Ballantyne.
A trip to take on Dundee United is next up on Tuesday.