The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
May content to become tap-in king
ST JOHNSTONE: Mcdiarmid striker hails win over Buddies ahead of game-free fortnight
Stevie May was a scorer of spectacular goals from all distances and angles under Tommy Wright, writes Eric Nicolson.
But he’ll happily become Callum Davidson’s king from close-range.
The St Johnstone striker was in the right place at the right time to finish off Craig Conway’s near post cross on Saturday and secure the Perth side their first home win of the season. And May will be hoping for the silver service to continue into the six-yard box when the Premiership resumes after the international break.
“As a striker, that is where you want the ball played in order to give you the chance to get on the end of it,” said the former Aberdeen forward.
“The defender in front of me couldn’t really gamble because he might have put the ball in his own net.
“I threw myself at it and thankfully the ball managed to find the corner. It was well deserved and a real dominant performance.
“It doesn’t matter where I’m scoring from. I’ll take a tap-in. Hitting the back of the net is the main thing and it’s just sweeter when it’s for a 1-0 win.
“I really just wanted to get back on to the pitch and finish one of the chances.”
“In the first half their goalkeeper made a couple of great saves, especially from Callum Hendry’s one-on-one. I thought that one was in,” added May.
“I think we have deserved more goals in the past few games. We didn’t get that bit of luck we needed.
“So Saturday’s goal was an important one and it went towards the three points, which made it even better.”
Having hitherto not started a match under Davidson because of minor injury troubles, scoring a winning goal was just the fillip May needed going into a gamefree fortnight.
“I’m delighted because it has been a bit more stop-start than what I would have liked this season,” he said.
“It wasn’t ideal picking up a knock but that is football and I didn’t want to make it any worse.
“After the length of break that we had, it can be difficult coming back. You have been doing road running but not shortsharp games or striking the ball.
“I did have a couple of wee niggles and it just took me a little longer to get going. But I’m feeling good now and starting to score goals is the main thing for me.”
May added: “It’s not great having the
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We had that extra midweek game so the boys have earned their break. We’ll have the chance to recuperate and get the energy back
international break now but there has been a lot of football and we’ve had a bit of fixture congestion compared to others.
“We had that extra midweek game so the boys have earned their break. We’ll have the chance to recuperate and get the energy back in the legs to go again.
“The St Mirren result is brilliant for everyone and it was important to get a win before the break. It gives us something to be positive about coming back.”
The fact that it was Saints’ first clean sheet of the season went under the radar a bit on Saturday, with the post-match talk dominated by the conversion of a bread-and-butter cross ball at last.
May was keen to stress the importance of his defensive team-mates’ contribution to a performance that was their most complete of the season to date.
“We were resolute in defending because we did get asked questions by St Mirren, which you expect,” he said. “They went long and did ask questions.
“But the boys at the back were solid and that is the foundation that you need. You know when you get a goal, the chances are you’ll pick up three points.
“And there were other positives, like getting Murray Davidson back involved. He brought experience to see the game out well.
“The system we are playing is starting to pay off a lot more now. We are playing nice football and the St Mirren game showed that.
“We would have liked a few more goals but to put in a performance like that is a huge positive for us.”