AS exorcising demons go, this was not a bad effort from St Johnstone.
Nine days might have passed since their Europa League penalty shoot-out exit at the hands of FC Minsk at McDiarmid Park, and somewhere in the region of 6000 spectators have been lost in the interim, but there was still a feeling of catharsis about the manner in which the Perth side took out their frustrations on Ross County.
Even the four-goal gulf does not begin to tell of the disparity between the sides. The fact that St Johnstone's 41-year-old goalkeeper Stevie Banks will rarely have had an easier game in his 23-year career offers a clear indication as to just how hapless Derek Adams' men were. "I could have played in goal if they could have found a kit to fit me," deadpanned manager Tommy Wright, once a keeper of some standing himself.
The Northern Irishman, who disclosed that Peterborough have yet to make a further offer for Stevie May since their last approach on Wednesday, properly described his players as having totally controlled the game because the result was in no doubt as soon as Nigel Hasselbaink scored after 16 minutes. Having advanced towards the near post, the Dutchman alighted upon Murray Davidson's cutback and fashioned a subtle backheel away into the far corner.
That St Johnstone led was a fair reflection, the hosts having shifted the ball with purpose and been effectively encamped in the County half. The Dingwall side could not cope with their movement and were cleaved open again within a couple of minutes. This time David Wotherspoon released May, who flicked the ball past Scott Boyd but was prevented from following by a cynical swipe.
Referee Brian Colvin took pity on the defender by deemeing a yellow card sufficient, but Wotherspoon was merciless, sweeping a splendid free-kick high past Mark Brown.
Given the opening quarter had not yet elapsed, the manner in which the Perth front three discombobulated County's defence suggested more punishment could be forthcoming for a side still to register their first point.
May went close, Davidson had a shot saved then dragged wide after a magnificent Hasselbaink pass, and Steven Anderson twice headed wide from Wotherspoon set-pieces before the latter finally relented, the midfielder allowing Brown to save his weak penalty after Ben Gordon had caused him to crumple. It was to prove a fleeting reprieve. Within five minutes of the resumption, St Johnstone dispelled any notions the visitors might have held of rescuing a point with two further goals of galling simplicity.
First, May was given room to amble on to a ball and allowed inside by Gordon, the striker cleverly using the full-back as a shield to deceive Brown at his near post. Then Dave Mackay lifted a free-kick into the same corner after another foul on May. "They've set the standard now," Wright cautioned.
Standards at County, though, appear to have slipped. Having described the performance in last weekend's 3-1 loss to Partick Thistle as the worst of his tenure, Adams suggested this was "no better, no worse", despite welcoming back both Richard Brittain - booed throughout by the home fans after reneging on his deal to move to Perth in the summer - and Ivan Sproule. County were abject.
Their first effort on goal, a Graham Carey shot on the half hour, was deflected wide; a similar fate was suffered by Orham Mustafi before Sproule trundled a shot at Banks and Brittain skied over. "We were not good defensively and did not do enough offensively," Adams said. "They bullied us and it's concerning to be losing so many goals."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article