Repeat can give Saints a chance, believes Levein
Craig Levein insists St Johnstone could have led 5-0 at half-time – and ordered a repeat display in Wednesday’s relegation showdown.
Saints were stunned by a late defeat – their fourth in a row – and probably just as surprised to learn of Motherwell thrashing Ross County.
That means the Perth men remain two points adrift in the play-off spot with a head-to-head looming at McDiarmid Park.
Levein reckons his team can lift themselves to produce the performance again – then profit in front of goal.
He said: “I’ve been searching for a really good performance for a while now – and we got that.
“Football is cruel sometimes and you don’t always get what you deserve.
“We worked really hard, played well and created chances.
“If we were four or five up at half-time, it would’ve been a fair reflection. But we weren’t, we made a couple of mistakes in the second half and were punished.
“There’s no point me caning people for making mistakes and missing chances because of the level of performance we put in.
“What we will talk about is, if we replicate that on Wednesday, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win.
“I feel for the players – they’re hurting and gutted. But they’re together, that’s important. I don’t think it will be hard to lift them.”
David Martindale gave thanks to goalkeeper Shamal George for his heroics.
Livi celebrated a winning feeling for only the fifth time in their relegation campaign.
Martindale said: “I think at the start, we looked like a team who’ve just been relegated.
“St Johnstone started like a team fighting for their lives and we were fortunate to be 1-0 down.
“I think we’re fortunate to have won 2-1 but that’s football – we’ve been on the other end of that this season.
“Football can be irrational or illogical at times. Shamal kept us in it for the first 20 minutes.
“Yes, they’ll be a bit disappointed with their finishing but he made some great saves.
“We settled down, got more of the ball and took more care in the final third.
“We were a bit fortunate with Nicky Clark’s chance with the ball over the top.
“But it was a great ball and finish for Shinnie’s goal. That’s something we work on during the week.
“Our two subs had a huge impact on the game and that’s what you hope will happen.”