The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Saints’ win proves strength in depth
ST JOHNSTONE: Davidson’s late goal secures victory without O’Halloran
St Johnstone have proved that this season’s highflying team are no one-man band, according to Murray Davidson.
On Saturday the Perth midfielder returned to a Saints side that was without August’s Premiership player of the month Michael O’Halloran, and he scored the late winner to defeat Hamilton Accies. “We’ve got strength in depth,” said Davidson. “Mikey’s probably been our best player and has chipped in with a few goals.
“He’s a big miss when he’s out but we’ve shown that we’re more than capable of grinding out results without him.”
O’Halloran’s ankle injury may keep him out of Saturday’s trip to Aberdeen, where the two sides will battle to be second in the table.
Davidson said: “If you’d offered us this at the start of the season we’d have taken it.
“We’ve got one more big game before the international break at Aberdeen. We’ve done well up there in recent years. They’ve got a lot of dangerous players but we know if we put our stamp on the game we’re capable of getting a result.”
Murray Davidson is still trying to put the weight back on that fell off when he was laid low by a sickness bug over two weeks ago.
But the dynamic St Johnstone midfielder had enough energy left in him to bullet home a late headed winner against Hamilton Accies at the weekend.
It was a fortnight before that Davidson started feeling unwell, and his half-time withdrawal in the Hibs game didn’t go down too well with his manager.
He was still feeling the effects a week later and had to miss the derby defeat at Dens Park.
The former Livingston man isn’t yet back to his fighting weight. However, you wouldn’t have known it as he first made a crucial last-ditch tackle in his own box and then scored the decisive goal moments later.
Putting his hand up for selection against Hibs seemed like the right idea at the time but “looking back, it was the worst thing I could have done,” he admitted.
“I blame my wee girl because she’d been up all night being sick after coming home from nursery.
“It was the Friday night/Saturday morning that I started feeling it. By Saturday night/Sunday I was bedded and then my girlfriend got it. It wasn’t a nice household for a week.
“It made me miss training on the Thursday and Friday when I came back in because I’d been so ill. I lost the best part of three kilos in weight.
“Monday after the Dundee game was my first training session but even then you don’t realise how much it’s taken out of you. I’ve been eating as many carbs as I can since then to try and put the weight back on. I’ve still got another kilo to go.
“You learn from these things. I felt good today because I’d had a full week’s training and I’m absolutely delighted to get back in and make a contribution.”
On Tommy Wright’s reaction post-Hibs, Davidson reflected: “The gaffer had his opinion. He’s the boss and I totally understand where he was coming from.
“I’d said to the physio on the Saturday morning that I didn’t feel right but we gave it a go. The manager was right to say what he said. If I’m feeling like that again I’ll be honest and leave the decision to him.
“That’s football. The gaffer’s always on my case anyway. He’s never happy!”
He wouldn’t have been too happy during the half-time break on Saturday either.
Saints had conceded the opening goal to Accies (albeit after coming close themselves through a Graham Cummins header that nearly crossed the line) and the visitors’ lead was a deserved one.
The second 45 was much more like them, and Steven MacLean levelled while sat on his backside before Davidson’s 84th-minute winner.
“In the first half we were disappointing and we knew there were things we needed to do better,” Davidson added.
“We were flat. If you’re just a little bit off in this league you get punished
“The gaffer said his bit. We’re an experienced bunch and we said a few things amongst ourselves as well.
“We’d had a couple of great chances without playing well and we knew that if we put a few basic things right and upped the tempo that we’d build pressure and get chances.The goal coming so early in the second half helped give us the belief to go on and win the game.
“It’s hard enough to get three points in the Premiership but to come from behind feels extra special.
“The experience and know-how in this team paid off and in the end I think we deserved our win.”
There was an Alan Mannus save from Rakish Bingham that was a decisive moment at 1-1 and Davidson’s block tackle as the same player was pulling the trigger from close in was certainly another.
“It can be like that,” said Davidson. “Last week we felt we had a perfectly good goal chalked off which would have made it 2-2 and then they went up the pitch and got a penalty.
“It’s about fine margins and they went against us at Dundee. This week they had a couple of chances at 1-1.”
Martin Canning was “raging” at “being in control and then ending up losing the game”, while Wright praised substitute Scott Tanser for the “great cross” that set up the winner and the “individual battles that were won” in the second half across the pitch by his players.
Canning also said after a third consecutive defeat that Accies can’t continue ‘playing well but not winning games.’
“We’ve got enough on the pitch and we have to be more clinical at both ends. Technically from my point of view we didn’t deserve to take anything from it.”