The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Davidson eyes hat-trick of home wins
Davidson’s double has Saints targeting top six
Murray Davidson has challenged St Johnstone to home in on Rangers and Hamilton after a weekend win over Ross County ended a five-month wait for victory at McDiarmid Park.
The in-form Gers visit Perth tomorrow seeking revenge for a 3-1 defeat at Ibrox back in December, with Accies in town on Saturday.
But Davidson, whose brace secured a morale-boosting 2-0 win over the Staggies, is confident Saints can rise to the challenge again.
“I can hardly even remember the last home win. That shows how long it has been,” he said.
“But we know we are more than capable. We have got two points at Celtic Park and won at Ibrox and Easter Road.
“As players you know it is a big week. Very rarely do I look at the league table but I had a look before the Celtic game. It is very rare after so many games that it is all so tight.
“A couple of wins and you are straight back up fighting for top six, a couple of defeats and you could end up in the play-off spot.
“It is three massive games at home and we got off to the perfect start. We have to build on it and go and get another couple of positive results.
“There’s another tough game coming against Rangers. But there’s no reason why we can’t get a positive result.”
ST JOHNSTONE 2 ROSSCOUNTY0
Murray Davidson couldn’t believe it had been five months since St Johnstone last posted a win on home turf.
And with Ross County targeting the visit to McDiarmid as an opportunity to haul the Perth side towards them at the foot of the Premiership table, the inspirational midfielder relished his first-half double which steered Tommy Wright’s side back in the direction of the top six.
Davidson was on target when Saints beat Hamilton back in September and he took his tally for the campaign to five at the expense of a County side which had beaten Dundee handsomely and drawn with Hearts before heading down the A9 to Perth.
The relegation-haunted Staggies lost substitute Craig Curran to a second yellow card from erratic referee Willie Collum near the end but by that time the outcome wasn’t in doubt, with home fans celebrating winning a proverbial six-pointer and bagging their first victory since seeing off Rangers at Ibrox in December.
“It didn’t matter how the win came about. We knew it was an important game,” admitted the midfielder, who inspired Saints to a dominant performance which created a nine-point cushion between them and the troubled visitors at the foot of the table.
“We spoke about it straight way from the Celtic game. We had to build on that.
“So many times this season we have given away the first goal and you find yourself chasing the game. But we were excellent and thoroughly deserved our win.
“I’m obviously delighted to get two goals. I’ve hit cleaner shots in my time than the first one and I thought the goalie had tipped the second one over. When your luck’s in your luck’s in I suppose.”
The 29th minute nerve-settling opener was beautifully crafted and the finish was effective, if not of the silky variety. It ended a four-game run without troubling the scoresheet.
David Wotherspoon released roving left-back Scott Tanser and striker Steven MacLean’s back post touch was perfectly weighted for Davidson to attack.
His connection from close range wasn’t the cleanest but slipped into the far corner of the net.
Buoyed by the advantage, Davidson pounced on a Chris Kane pass to smack a well-struck effort from the edge of the penalty box towards the target five minutes from the interval.
Keeper Scott Fox got a solid hand to it but it wasn’t enough to prevent the ball squirming into the same corner as the midfielder’s earlier strike.
Before the half-time whistle blew, anxious County captain Marcus Fraser hammered a clearance off his own crossbar as Saints turned the screw.
“We knew it was important to stay in the game and the first 20 minutes was very tight,” said Davidson. “We believe if we stay in games we are going to get chances. That’s the way it proved.”
Saints, who had seven injured players posted missing, should have added to their advantage in the second half, with County unable to trouble Perth keeper Alan Mannus until the closing minute, when he kept Davis Keillor-Dunn and Christopher Routis at bay.
Substitutes Liam Craig and Denny Johnstone both had clear-cut chances to apply gloss to the scoreline.
And earlier in the second period
Itdidn’t matter how the win came about. We knew it was an important game. MURRAY DAVIDSON
Wotherspoon decided to take on a shot himself, with Davidson’s demands for a pass and a potential hat-trick blanked. His effort trundled harmlessly wide.
The Staggies were reduced to 10 men with Curran’s dismissal in the wake of a touchline melee, with manager Owen Coyle acting as peacemaker.
With the ball kicked out for an injury, Curran scrapped for possession and was caught shoving MacLean to the turf with six minutes left on the clock. Collum, who had already carded Davidson and Kane, opted for a second booking and Curran departed.
Saints manager Tommy Wright hailed Davidson’s man of the match display and insisted Saints should be looking up not down after edging closer to Motherwell in seventh place.
“You always fancy Murray when he has gone a few weeks without a goal,” said Wright.
“I thought he was excellent the whole game and probably a bit unfortunate to get booked. He was all over the park and led us from the front.
“County would have fancied their chances but we look on it as being only five points behind Motherwell with two games in hand.
“We have done our job and we can be happy with our day’s work. Now we have to recover and get ready to go again against Rangers on Tuesday.
“It was a second clean sheet after the draw with Celtic and hopefully it’s the start of a wee run for us.”
Staggies manager Coyle refused to hide from a disappointing performance, which saw his players troop off to a chorus of boos from their supporters.
They have collected just one win in 15 games and worried fans fear their customary escape from the relegation area could prove beyond them this time.
“It was hugely disappointing, there’s no getting away from it,” he admitted.
“We had a great chance to continue building momentum and we didn’t do ourselves justice.
“Sometimes you can have two or three players out of sorts but I am struggling to give two or three pass marks.”