Deadly Davidson is all Wright after Tynecastle talk-in
THIS is what Tommy Wright and St Johnstone do. Just when their season has been written off as a dead rubber, they go to places such as Tynecastle, they utterly dismantle teams like Hearts, and players like Murray Davidson score two goals to emerge as the unlikeliest of matchwinners.
This was a stunning performance, bristling with industry and attacking quality. The bookies might have taken a beating during Cheltenham, but this result would surely have repaired some of the damage by bursting just about every coupon in Scotland.
Wright and his players revel in their underdog status, and no player typifies that more than Davidson, whose boundless energy in the middle of the park drove his team on to a result which moved them back into fourth place and reignited their push for European football.
The headlinemaker was supposed to be Stevie Anderson, who broke the club record to make his 362nd appearance for St Johnstone, but it was Davidson’s performance which took the plaudits.
And Wright revealed a special pep talk with the midfielder before the game might well have inspired his goalscoring heroics.
‘I spoke with Murray and I told him he owed me a couple of goals,’ Wright said. ‘His goals were typical of him, getting into the box and getting on the end of things.
‘I thought we showed just what a good side we are because there are not many teams who will come to Tynecastle and dominate like we did.
‘We could probably have scored a lot more goals, but we can’t complain with 3-0 and a clean sheet. Hearts are a good side but we dominated them and kept their chances to a minimum. Some of the football we played was excellent.’
Given that Hearts had kept four consecutive clean sheets heading into this match, the ease with which they handed St Johnstone a two-goal lead inside 21 minutes was hugely surprising.
Liam Craig delivered an inswinging corner, the ball was allowed to bounce in the middle of the box and Davidson arrived to plant a header beyond Neil Alexander on 11 minutes.
Just 10 minutes later, the same combination used the same route to put Saints 2-0 ahead. Craig delivered exactly the same kind of corner from the same side of the pitch. The ball was not allowed to bounce this time, however, as Davidson came bulldozing in at the back post to bullet another header past a despairing Alexander.
Saints wrapped it all up when Darnell Fisher side-footed home a pass from David Wotherspoon.
Hearts manager Robbie Neilson said: ‘We just weren’t at the races at all. We’re not good enough to win games when five or six of our players don’t perform. Losing 3-0 at home isn’t good enough.
‘We are still a young team and I think you could see our inexperience with losing two goals from set-pieces. It was naïve, but I believe in my players and I believe they are good enough to learn from it.’