The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Saints boss proud despite late blow
Proud St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright felt his team didn’t deserve to suffer late heartbreak against Rangers, writes Eric Nicolson.
Saints produced as good a performance as the Perth boss has seen this season.
Matty Kennedy was a star turn as lone striker and gave the home team a half-time lead. But Alfredo Morelos took the game away from them with two clinical finishes, the second of which, on 89 minutes, came moments after Blair Alston nearly scored.
“There’s huge pride in how we played but huge disappointment that we didn’t get anything from the game because I felt we deserved something,” said Wright.
“We didn’t give Rangers many opportunities for long parts of the game and they’ve had to change and go two up front.
“We defended well for most of the game and were a real threat.”
“We could have gone 2-1 in front but unfortunately they go up the pitch and score.
“I thought the players gave everything and it was as good a performance as we’ve had all season but not the result unfortunately.
“In the first half I don’t think Zander (Clark) had a save to make and he didn’t have one until later in the second half.
“We set up in a certain way and it worked but ultimately we didn’t defend two crosses into the box.
“I feel really sorry for big Jason (Kerr) because I think he slipped just before the second goal and Morelos just gets in front of him.
“If we play like that every week we’ll pick up more points than we lose.”
Wright added: “Having seen how well Rangers played against Hibs and the number of shots they had – I think it was 18 or 19 – my players did well to contain them.
“We got the balance right between defence and attack and that’s why I’m gutted for them.
“But we can take the positives and hopefully take them into our next game.”
Kennedy’s performance drew praise from Steven Gerrard and his own manager was vindicated in his team selection and tactics.
“Somebody had said we played 4-6-0 which shows you what people know,” said Wright.
“Matty can play up top because he has pace. When teams have good possession and good players it’s all right to say you will have a go.
“When you face Rangers and Celtic who have better players than you then it is vital to get the balance right.
“We did that and Matty was a big part of that.
“He was a real threat and worked the two centre halves and took his goal well.”
Wright wasn’t the only boss dealing with mixed emotions.
Gerrard said: “The first half wasn’t good enough all over the pitch.
“Nobody did the shirt justice. Nobody looked like a Rangers player to me.
“I had to have the honest conversation with them at half-time. I had to tell them what all the fans thought of them because you could hear their reaction at the end of the first half.
“My job is to let them know what the fans think and it’s my job to demand more out of them and we got a major reaction in the second half. Every single player to a man stood up to be counted.
“You saw the two sides to us today. The team in the first half was second best all over the pitch and made hard work of it, then we were a quality team which looks like it’s capable of being at the top of the table.
“We are really pleased with the points. These were three really big points with the two games we have on the horizon.
“I was really impressed with St Johnstone. In the first half Kennedy was really good, a top 45 minutes. He was a constant thorn in our side.”