The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Saints paying price for profligacy
Wright’s 300th game in charge of St Johnstone ends in narrow defeat
LIVINGSTON 1 ST JOHNSTONE 0
St Johnstone returned to league action at the Tony Macaroni Arena last night after going into the winter break unbeaten in six games. However, that run came to an end and they can blame a catalogue of missed chances for this defeat.
They had the better of the first half but poor finishing and a string of excellent saves from Robbie McCrorie cost the Premiership’s lowest-scoring side the chance to move above Ross County in eighth place.
Saints manager Tommy Wright, in his 300th match in charge, made three changes to the team which beat Morton in the Scottish Cup at the weekend, with Liam Craig, Jason Holt and Michael O’Halloran coming in for Murray Davidson, David Wotherspoon and Chris Kane.
The Perth men came close to drawing first blood in the fourth minute when Liam Gordon’s angled drive from the edge of the 18-yard box fizzed just wide of debut keeper Robbie McCrorie’s right-hand post.
Saints striker Michael O’Halloran’s pace took him clear of Ciaran Brown and left him with only McCrorie to beat but he appeared to be cleaned out by the defender before he could get his shot away.
The visiting fans screamed for a penalty kick but referee Euan Anderson didn’t want to know.
The home team had been second best during the first quarter but they came agonisingly close to opening the scoring in the 31st minute when Steve Lawson’s swerving free-kick from 25 yards beat Zander Clark, only to rebound to safety off his left-hand post.
Saints responded by sending O’Halloran clear on the left and the winger’s low drive was parried by McCrorie, who got back up in time to gather Jason Holt’s effort from the rebound.
Livi left-back Jack McMillan became the first player to receive a yellow card when he hauled Drey Wright back by his jersey after the wide man had burst past him in the 40th minute.
Livington skipper Marvin Bartley then joined him in the official’s notebook before the interval for a professional foul on Holt, a needless booking since the midfielder had already lost the ball.
However, Clark had to come to his side’s rescue sixminutes after the restart when he clawed a piledriver from Scott Pittman out from the postage-stamp corner.
That save was matched at the other end by McCrorie, who made himself big to keep out O’Halloran’s effort from point-blank range after the latter had managed to get on the end of Wright’s driven cross.
It proved to be a pivotal moment. Livi broke away and Lyndon Dykes’ cutback from the byline found Pittman, who passed the ball into the keeper’s bottom left-hand corner from eight yards.
Clark was helpless on that occasion but he kept Saints in contention when he threw himself to his right to beat away another netbound drive from Pittman immediately afterwards.
Wright made a triple change on the hour-mark, sending on Chris Kane, Callum Hendry and Scott Tanser on for Anthony Ralston, Liam Craig and Stevie May in an attempt to reboot his side and they came close when it took a superb block from Brown to deny O’Halloran.
Only Celtic and Rangers have conceded fewer home goals than the West Lothian outfit, though, and they held on to claim a fifth successive home win, which keeps them in fifth place.
Attendance: 1,140.
Livingston: McCrorie; Lawson (Lamie 63), Brown, Guthrie, McMillan (Crawford 74), Jacobs, Bartley; Lawless ( Erskine 72), Pittman, McCann, Dykes. Subs: Stewart, Souda, Tiffoney, Sibbald.
St Johnstone: Clark; Ralston (Hendry 61), Gordon, Kerr, Booth, Craig (Kane 61), Wright, Holt, McCann, O’Halloran, May (Tanser 61). Subs: Parish, Vihmann, Tanser, Kane, Hendry, Wotherspoon, Kennedy.
Referee: Euan Anderson.