They almost didn't know what to do with themselves in the stands at McDiarmid Park when referee Kevin Clancy blew for full time after three minutes of injury time. There was, at last, a victory to celebrate, the first in the league since the same opposition were beaten on August 30 and a first at home since the week before that.
St Johnstone 2 Motherwell 1: Victory at last for Tommy Wright
After a run of five league defeats and a draw, and then the tame League Cup exit at the hands of Rangers in midweek, here at last was something to shout about. Their overall league position is still not great by their own recent high standards - the victory takes them up to eighth in the table, above Partick Thistle - but the outpouring of relief at the end showed just how welcome it was regardless. This has been a tough campaign for Tommy Wright and his players on the back of last year's William Hill Scottish Cup success and they will hope this win sparks a revival that will lead them back to more familiar surrounds in the table.
It would prove quite the night for Michael O'Halloran. The St Johnstone striker had been complicit in Motherwell moving into a 13th minute lead - conceding possession not once but twice in the build-up - but by the end of the evening he was being hailed as the hero. He drew his team level with a shot low into the corner as half-time approached, then scored what proved to be the winning goal following a dribble that took him around several Motherwell defenders with 10 minutes remaining of the match.
He could, in fact, have ended the match with the ball tucked under his arm, only to spurn a late chance for a hat-trick, but his manager was pleased with the way the player had bounced back from such an early set-back in the game.
"He got over his disappointment and showed a lot of character," said Wright. "He created a lot of chances all night and applied two wonderful finishes, the second one in particular. That's what he can do. He's got pace, two good feet and I'm really pleased for him. He proved tonight how good he can be and he will gain confidence from that." The result was rough on Motherwell who contributed so much to the contest, in the first half especially, only to once again depart with nothing. They have now lost five league games on the spin and remain ensconced in the relegation play-off spot and without a victory to their name since September 13. This was their second Friday night fixture in succession and, given the results they have suffered, they will probably not be looking forward too much to their third in a week's time. Stuart McCall and his players will reflect on a flurry of activity around the 40th minute-mark as the turning point in the game. Motherwell were already ahead by then - Lionel Ainsworth taking advantage of some sloppy defending to thud his shot past Alan Mannus - and looked good value to add a second that would surely have ended any lingering St Johnstone resistance. Ainsworth again had the shot but this time Mannus was able to repel his effort with his legs. St Johnstone sprung, James McFadden feeding O'Halloran who dashed up the park, worked a 1-2 with Lee Croft, before finishing low into the corner. Motherwell looked deflated, St Johnstone reinvigorated.
That was Motherwell's best chance to add a second goal but not the only one. Steven Hammell had a rare venture forward from full-back that ended with a drive that skidded just wide, before Ainsworth had another go, this time failing to hit the target. The winger set up Henrik Ojaama early in the second half but his shot was saved, before Iain Vigurs curled a free kick well over the top. Motherwell were knocking on the door but lacked the sufficient poise and menace in front of goal. "The harsh reality is that we have lost a game that, if we had taken our opportunities, we would have won," sighed McCall. "For a team that is down where we are, supposedly low in confidence, we played some really good football and created opportunities. I can't be critical of the players at all tonight but we just didn't take our chances."
St Johnstone had gone into the game hardly bursting with confidence either. With striker Steven MacLean injured, goals have been hard to come by and they were hardly peppering Dan Twardzik's goal here with chance after chance. Brian Graham headed a McFadden delivery just wide, and captain Dave MacKay thundered another free kick just off target, but that was about the sum of their goalmouth adventures in the first half. O'Halloran had a low dribbler midway through the second half but it never looked like troubling Twardzik, before Frazer Wright's header required a bit more of an effort from the goalkeeper to swat it away. They eventually found a way through after 80 minutes. McFadden played a pass into O'Halloran, and after Fraser Kerr and Stephen McManus collided, O'Halloran picked a path around them before applying a crisp finish. St Johnstone, at last, had another victory to their name.
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