Slow start costs Saints in final away fixture
Head coach Jason McCrindle cursed a slow start as St Johnstone WFC went down 5-0 against Hamilton on Sunday.
The Perth ladies were trailing by four at the end of the first half and, while the performance did improve after the break, it was too little too late.
Half-chances did fall for Saints at New Douglas Park but too often the final ball or finish didn’t do enough to trouble the home defence.
Nicole Carter, in particular, had an opportunity early doors but her right-footed strike from a promising position was high and wide of the target.
McCrindle was disappointed with the cheap concession of goals across the afternoon and admitted his side were beaten by the better team on the day.
He continued:“We just didn’t start the first half at all. It was a combination of Hamilton being really good and ourselves being very poor.
“I think they are the best side we’ve come up against, especially in that opening 45 minutes.
“We have really good players in our side but, if they weren’t prepared to match Hamilton, this was going to happen.
“They were poor goals to lose from our perspective. We didn’t take responsibility on the ball or off the ball.
“Hamilton are still going for the league and that is their target. We knew they would be up for the game and we would have to stand up to it.
“I don’t think the players had the mentality that it was towards the end of the season and we had nothing to play for.
“They deserve a bit of credit because we’ve gone out into the second half and matched Hamilton.
“Hamilton were still good in the second half but we were a lot better. But we can’t only play half games or play for 60 minutes.
“We need to perform for the full game and eradicate the individual errors for goals if we have any chance of competing at the top end.”
Saints, who sit second bottom, have one Scottish Women’s Premier League 2 fixture remaining this season against Hutchison Vale in two weeks’time.
The Edinburgh-based side are yet to pick up a victory and McCrindle - already planning for next season - is determined to keep it that way when the teams meet at McDiarmid Park.
McCrindle added:“We’ve got Hutchison Vale in our last game and are focused on that, not about who is winning the league.
“In the last six games we’ve won three, lost two and drawn one.
“Form hasn’t been too bad to finish off the season. We’ll be looking to take momentum into pre-season and then build further.
“We’ve already started to plan for next season and are already having conversations with players.
“Plans are in place in terms of recruitment, structure and what we’re looking to do behind the scenes.”