Ailing Accies feel the pain as Saints notch five in a row

St Johnstone goalie Zander Clark recorded a club record of five consecutive clean sheets in a row.

But the 26-year-old could have worn non-stick gloves and a blindfold as Saints brushed aside a hapless Hamilton Accies’ side who didn’t manage a single shot on target.

This was the Perth team’s fifth consecutive league victory – a run that started after being walloped 6-0 by Celtic at Mcdiarmid Park.

That it’s not impossible to bounce back from a thrashing might be Hamilton manager Martin Canning’s only consolation.

His great unpredictables looked like they were on the way back up the table after drawing with Kilmarnock at the end of October and beating Livingston last weekend.

The result of this game, however, was never in doubt and Canning was furious with the performance.

“We were second-best all over the park,” he said.

“St Johnstone are going well, but we didn’t make it difficult for them at all.

“I asked in the changing room how this can happen.

“We seem to go from being on point one week to lacking focus and concentration the next.

“Three of the goals are absolutely avoidable but that doesn’t excuse the performance.

“Let’s be honest, they could have scored one or two more.

“We were terrible, that’s why welostthegame.”

The small band of travelling supporters were calling for the manager’s head and Dougie Imrie had a debate with them at full-time.

Canning added: “I can only say sorry to the supporters.

“I pick the team and if they don’t perform, then I’m the target for abuse.

“I’ll always put the players first and take that. What I need from them is the workrate on the pitch.

“We generally always get that, but not on this occasion.”

Accies did come up against a Saints side brimming with confidence, but their lack of fight only encouraged the home side to zip the ball about at pace.

They took the lead after Accies goalie Gary Woods pushed a Drey Wright cut-back into the path of Murray Davidson and the midfielder fired home. A second came when Wright shaped to cross from the right and his effort deflected off Ziggy Gordon and past Woods.

It was only a matter of time before Saints went further ahead and it came when Matty Kennedy ran behind a static defence before sliding the ball past the keeper. Kennedy then hit the bar before Davidson intercepted an attempted pass-back by Tshiembe and set up Wotherspoon to make it four.

Saints produced a stylish performance from start to finish but it was also one of the easiest victories they’ll ever achieve.

Assistant manager Alex Cleland said: “We just keep saying to the boys to keep trying to be better than the game before and I think they did that.

“To get five clean sheets and fifteen points after the Celtic defeat is quite an achievement.

“We work really hard to defend as a team and we’re looking a really attacking threat as well.”

Attacker Matty Kennedy turned in a sparkling performance in the final third and gave a lot of the credit to his defensive team-mates.

He said: “The boys at the back have given us a platform to play.

“Getting all these clean sheets allows us the freedom to go and perform up front.”