Aldred ready to stand firm against Celtic onslaught
THE talk pre-match had been of in-form St Johnstone bidding to equal a nine-game unbeaten sequence in Scotland’s top flight, posted just three times before in the history of the Perth club.
But early strikes from Motherwell defender Tom Aldred and striker Danny Johnson put paid to that prospect, particularly with winger Matty Kennedy becoming the latest in a series of Saints to miss a penalty this term.
Defender Jason Kerr, whose goal at Fir Park set his team on an impressive run of form, did power home an impressive late header but it proved too little, too late to salvage a point.
Instead of climbing to fourth place in a condensed pack, Tommy Wright’s team found themselves slipping out of the top six all together after Livingston’s win over Hearts on Friday night.
For a Motherwell side losing their previous three games on the road, it was the perfect response in advance of a challenging midweek game looming at Celtic Park.
On-loan Bury centre-back Aldred and his defensive colleagues Charles Dunne and Christian Mbulu stood firm in brutally challenging conditions, with icy sleet sweeping McDiarmid Park.
Englishman Aldred is well aware similar fortitude will be required against the champions but he pointed out they had claimed a point recently with a defiant display at Fir Park.
“The games come thick and fast over Christmas and it was important to get a win here,” he acknowledged.
“It was great and it leads us well into the game on Wednesday night. We take confidence going there after the result we had against Celtic at our place. At the minute Celtic are the best but we feel we can compete. We’ve shown that in the past and we need to show it again.”
Aldred celebrated his first goal of the campaign just 90 seconds into the match, stabbing home a David Turnbull corner which had deceived the Perth defence.
Then when Turnbull made a hash of a simple finish Johnson latched on to the loose ball to crash the second high into the net, with a notoriously tight home defence posted missing.
Former Cardiff attacker Kennedy was given the chance to make inroads when Dunne handled his 25th-minute cross but stand-in keeper Mark Gillespie repeated his heroics against Celtic to dive and swat the strike away.
That’s now four penalties squandered by different players this season so, not surprisingly, manager Wright admitted it had become an irritating habit.
With regular Steelmen keeper Trevor Carson recovering from deep vein thrombosis, Gillespie has proved the ideal replacement.
“Mark stepped up and it was a big moment. He made a big save for us,” said Aldred.
“We knew losing Trevor would be a blow because he’s as good a goalkeeper as I’ve ever played with. But Mark is a like for like replacement the way he has been playing.”