Three off for woeful Well as Saints soar
ST JOHNSTONE 4 MacLean (8), O’Halloran (18, 74) Davidson (90) MOTHERWELL 1 Rose (28)
MICHAEL O’HALLORAN scored twice – and missed a penalty – as St Johnstone thrashed eight- man Motherwell in Perth.
Goalkeeper Trevor Carson, skipper Carl McHugh and Charles Dunne were all sent off in the second half as the Steelmen endured a terrible day at McDiarmid Park.
Saints secured an early advantage from Steven MacLean and the double from on- loan Rangers forward O’Halloran could have been a hat- trick, but he missed a late penalty before Murray Davidson netted the home side’s fourth.
The visitors had briefly remained in contention through Andrew Rose midway through the first half, but Stephen Robinson’s men were left to rue the three red cards shown by referee Craig Thomson.
Robinson said: “The turning point of the game was the sending off of the keeper – that’s stating the obvious.”
McDiarmid Park boss Tommy Wright was understandably thrilled. “It was a good win,” he said. “Michael O’Halloran has a great relationship with the players and fans – he’s come back to us a better player.”
Two goals in an early eight-minute spell set the tone for a frantic tussle.
Mother well seemed disbelieving as MacLean and O’Halloran struck.
Saints have drawn a blank in their search for a striker in the last few weeks, but O’Halloran may be the fall-back position for Wright’s side. His abortive spell at Ibrox has not robbed him of his speed down the flanks, willingness to cut inside a full back or try his luck on target.
His raw pace alone seemed to light up his team- mates and give Saints a purpose and belief that will be necessary if another top-six place finish is to be secured.
Robinson’s refurbished Motherwell side are clearly still a work in progress.
Coming into the game with five wins from the first six games, the Fir Park men enjoyed a lot of the ball going forward without displaying the punch to match. Front players Alex Fisher and Ryan Bowman were anonymous.
And while they were enjoyable to watch at times, a little more decisiveness and focus at the back will be needed in the battles ahead. They certainly have talent in the squad. Strapping stopper Rose – who grabbed Well’s goal with a header at the far post – is a grand physical specimen to build a team round. And former Rangers loan player Gael Bigirimana was an influence in midfield with his clever feet and use of the ball.
If the opening spell in the match was hectic, the finale was crazy gang stuff as the Saints piled in with two more goals and the visitors lost three players.
First, keeper Carson saw red after he ventured out of his box and handled when it might have been possible to clear with his feet.
From that moment, Saints were in cruise control and Motherwell in crisis.
Fir Park skipper Carl McHugh saw red for a second caution with 13 minutes left before, incredibly, Motherwell were then reduced to eight men after Dunne tripped Graham Cummins in the box.
O’Halloran stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but he was denied a hat-trick by substitute keeper Russell Griffiths ’ save.
Davidson rubbed salt into Motherwell’s wounds in the closing seconds with a smart finish at the edge of the box following Richard Foster’s cut-back.