Hat-trick provides ideal send-off for veteran
Hat-trick hero MacLean celebrates with his daughter at the end of the game Motherwell ................... 1 St Johnstone ................. 5 Even Steven MacLean would have struggled to write a better finishing script.
The forward of legendary status brought the curtain down on his St Johnstone career with a memorable hat-trick against stunned Motherwell.
Steven Anderson and David McMillan also got in on the act but neither would mind the spotlight being firmly shone on departing MacLean.
He was paraded in front of travelling supporters at the end of the match before trudging off the pitch with the match ball tucked underneath his arm.
For Richard Foster, who teed-up MacLean for the opener, the dominant win was the perfect send-off for his team-mate.
“You couldn’t have written it any better. He’s been a fantastic servant to the club and Saturday proves that,” Foster told the Perthshire Advertiser.
“I don’t know if we have another player in the squad who would have scored the goals he did.
“We’re going to miss him, but that’s football. He’s done well for St Johnstone and created lots of memories.
“I think it was our best performance of the season on Saturday. We’ve felt in the dressing room that it has been coming.”
Saints controlled the play at Fir Park and deservedly went ahead when determined MacLean nodded Foster’s pinpoint cross from the right into the bottom corner.
The jubilation on his face was evident for all to see as he made his way over to celebrate the moment with delighted Perth supporters.