The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Saints can go marching on after win
Midfielder’s double ends losing run for Perth men on 250th game for club
He has now netted 20 goals in his Perth career but few will have been as important as the double David Wotherspoon tucked away against Accies on Saturday.
The Canadian international midfielder – and 2014 Scottish Cup winner – had pledged to lead by example going into this crucial encounter.
And while super sub Callum Hendry smashed home a dramatic late winner to end manager Tommy Wright’s frustrating 168-day wait for that elusive first league win, local hero Wotherspoon was key to the victory.
He also unleashed a 25-yarder which hit a post after the interval and squandered a late, gilt-edged chance to claim his first hat-trick in senior football.
Wotherspoon struck at the double either aside of half-time after Saints had, once again, slipped behind, despite early domination which included a longrange Murray Davidson strike crashing back off the crossbar.
But Davidson handed Accies sub Steven Davies an unlikely chance to tuck away an 86th minute penalty kick equaliser.
That would have been rough justice on an utterly dominant Perth team.
But when one-time Saints defender Brian Easton slipped in the box, 21-yearold Hendry cashed in by thrashing a close range finish into the roof of the net after taming the ball on his chest.
He had been on the park a matter of minutes but that was super sub Hendry’s third of the season.
“I didn’t realise it was my 250th game until afterwards but I’m delighted with that milestone,” said Wotherspoon.
“It was a good way to celebrate it but it should have been a hat-trick.
“I’m disappointed that it wasn’t because it would have put us 3-1 up and had the game dead and buried.
“Instead we gave ourselves more trouble but the boys showed their character and won the game.
“We keep conceding goals and it’s not good but we showed our character to keep going right to the end and got the third goal with a great finish from Callum.”
With a run of home games looming against Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen, this long-awaited victory could transform Saints’ season.
“It’s massive, it’s what we needed. It’s the confidence-builder that we need to push on this season and start winning more games because we know that we have a quality team here who can push further up the table,” said Wotherspoon.
“Our performance showed the quality that we’ve got and with the chances we created we should have been well out of sight.
“We just didn’t take them and that’s been the story of the season so far.
“But we took it at the end and that’s what matters, getting the three points.
“Callum has been brilliant. He has been showing in training and in reserve games that he can finish and he just popped up again to do what he does best – scores and got us the win, and what a feeling it was.”
Wotherspoon echoed his manager’s praise for teenage midfielder Ali Mccann, who has emerged as a rising star in the Perth engine room.
“Ali has been fantastic this year. I drive with him every morning but he’s been a real surprise for me the way he’s kicked on,” admitted Wotherspoon.
“The more he’s played the better he’s got, he’s just grown and grown.
“It’s great to have him in there beside Murray Davidson who can bring him forward. He has just grown in character and on the pitch his performances are only getting better all the time.
“I said that it was up to more experienced players like me to lead by example and I tried to take that on to the pitch on Saturday.
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We keep conceding goals and it’s not good but we showed our character to keep going right to the end.
DAVID WOTHERSPOON
“When we conceded the first goal we didn’t let our heads go down. We kept pushing and pushing.
“Even when they scored the penalty to equalise late on all we were thinking about was getting the ball back and going again. Pushing for that first win was the only thing on our minds, that’s what we wanted to achieve.
“This would be up there with my best performances for St Johnstone.”
Manager Wright admitted the victory should have been less nerve-wracking, with Drey Wright also missing a sitter.
But despite their lacklustre start to the season, his Saints are just two points behind Accies in eighth place.
He said: “It would have been a travesty if we hadn’t won that game because we dominated from start to finish.
“We should have been out of sight long before Callum’s goal.
“They have been through a hard time but I have said it before, this is a young squad and we need to stick with them.”