Match report

Saturday, 13 March 2010
Vital win for Saints at Falkirk

Clydesdale Bank Premier League
Falkirk (1) v Saints (2)
Attendance [5,895]

Left: Liam Craig equalises from the penalty spot.


Derek McInnes gave this one a pre-match label of the biggest game of his short managerial career and said he felt there was an edge to training this week as his side looked to create further daylight between them and bottom side Falkirk.

Injury to two defenders meant that there were enforced changes from the side which lost a late goal to Motherwell in Perth last week. Graham Gartland and Steven Anderson were the players unable to take part and that allowed Gary Irvine to come back into the side along with Danny Grainger who had replaced Anderson in the early stages of that defeat to Motherwell.

There was a change of manager’s choice in the middle of the park as well with a fit-again Jody Morris replacing Kevin Moon in the middle of the park.

If Derek McInnes expected to see his pumped-up troops come flying out of the traps he was to be left disappointed as both sides took time to feel their way into the contest and it was Steven Pressley’s side who carved out the first shooting opportunity in seven minutes when Vitor Lima pounced on a headed Duberry clearance but his effort was rising from the moment it left his boot.

St Johnstone’s best early chances came via the long-throw expertise of Danny Grainger but his towering efforts saw Kenny Deuchar head straight into the arms of Bairns’ keeper Olejnik and then when the big striker flicked on Danny’s next effort, Milne stuck out a foot but again the Falkirk keeper was equal to the task.

The 17th minute saw a period of play which could have brought a goal for either side: a free kick to Saints wide left was taken by Liam Craig and a real scramble ensued but nobody could carve out a shooting opportunity. Falkirk then took possession and broke quickly but when Moutinho laid it into the path of the unmarked Lima he made a complete hash of his shot which went miles wide.

Saints keeper Graeme Smith didn’t enjoy the best of afternoons last weekend against Motherwell and he was left with a red face again in 27 minutes when Falkirk broke the deadlock.

The former Killie man chose to race from his goal to reach a loose ball wide on his right hand touchline but he lost out to Falkirk’s Ryan Flynn and when he hauled the player down a yellow card was inevitable. Worse was to follow – when the free kick was taken, Smith failed to get near the ball and Marc Twaddle was on hand to bundle the ball over the line from close range to edge the home side in front.

Saints looked to get back on level terms quickly and a Steven Milne header saved by Olejnik was the sign of an improvement in Saints’ performance in the final 15 minutes of the half. The home keeper produced a great save to deny Chris Millar soon after – the Saints midfielder having nicked around the back of the defence to get on the end of a long ball from Grainger - but he was left helpless just moments later when Murray Davidson sent in a header but to the dismay of the large Perth support the ball dropped just wide of the post.

Moutinho wasted a chance for the home side and he was left to rue that when Saints grabbed the leveller just before half-time. It came from the penalty spot after Brian McLean handled a Grainger ball to the back post and Liam Craig needed no invitation to score his ninth of the season. Falkirk manager Steven Pressley was incensed with the award in the post-match press conference and felt there was no way his player could have avoided the hand to ball contact but his player was always running a risk with the way he met the ball.

The second half was certainly not a thing of beauty and on a difficult pitch the players struggled to put together much in the way of passing football.

Consequently, goal scoring opportunities were few and far between.
That said, both sides had their spells of pressure as they looked for a vital goal and after Falkirk had caused problems early in the second half with corner kicks it was Saints who had the best opportunity in 53 minutes. It was a great move as Murray Davidson took possession just inside his own half and drove forward before laying it wide right to Gary Irvine. Murray kept going and when the ball came back to him 20 yards out his low drive was just inches wide with Olejnik beaten.

Darren Barr caused anxiousness in the Saints support behind the goal when he got in behind Gary Irvine and skipped to the by-line and it took Michael Duberry to clear the danger at the expense of a fruitless corner kick.

Steven Milne – later to be replaced by Filipe Morais - flicked a header just wide of goal as Saints went in search of a winner and as the second half progressed Falkirk, having failed to get back in front, began to look nervy as Saints started to look the more dangerous side.

Given what had gone before, a goal from either side looked relatively unlikely but with six minutes to go there was one and to the joy of the eleven hundred Perth fans it came at the far end of the ground.

Liam Craig, on the left, fired the ball upfield and Kenny Deuchar took a chance on going behind Tam Scobbie to cut off the route to goalkeeper Olejnik and it proved to be a wise move because the Falkirk defender’s backward header lacked pace and Kenny was on it in a flash to loft the ball over the keeper and into the empty net.

That goal knocked the stuffing out of the home side and Saints were able to cruise relatively comfortably to the final whistle for a hugely significant three points.

Saints were certainly worth a share of the spoils and in truth a draw would have been in keeping with the match action but that was the case last weekend also when we ended up with nothing from the game against Motherwell and so
Derek McInnes will not be unduly concerned at the late turn of events!

The important thing is that we are now eleven points clear of safety and into seventh place in the SPL ahead of Aberdeen who come to Perth on Tuesday.

Saints: Smith, Irvine, Grainger, MacKay, Duberry, Morris, Millar, Craig, Davidson, Milne (Morais), Deuchar.
Subs not used: Main, Sheerin, Moon, Sheridan, Connolly, Reynolds.

FALKIRK: Olejnik, Barr, Scobbie, Twaddle, McLean, Moutinho (Compton), O’Brien, Flynn, Showunmi, Lima, Healy.
Subs not used: Wagenaar, Lynch, Duffie, Davidson, Bloom, Sludden

Referee: Stevie O’Reilly
Att: 5, 895

PHOTOS:
Top - Murray Davidson battles for possession
Bottom - Kenny Deuchar lofts the ball over Falkirk keeper Robert Olejnik for the winning goal