Simo Valakari was full of praise for the character his team showed after ten-man St Johnstone earned a hard-fought draw at Rugby Park.
The visitors played the majority of the match with ten men after goalkeeper Toby Steward was sent off in the 13th minute for handling the ball outside his own box. Valakari said the incident was partly due to his “tactical choice” as he instructed his goalkeeper to play in a “sweeper keeper” role.
Kilmarnock took the lead immediately after the sending off and continued to put pressure on the St Johnstone backline. Striker Danny Schmidt equalised for the Perth side after heading in his first St Johnstone goal following a corner kick. When discussing his performance, Valakari said the German “showed very good quality today”.
Kilmarnock took the lead again almost immediately after Schmidt had equalised. Valakari described this as “the most disappointing moment”of the game.
St Johnstone hung on in what Valakari described as a “long afternoon” and managed to find an equaliser through Joel Cotterill. The visitors had to absorb further pressure from Kilmarnock as they continued to throw numbers into the St Johnstone box.
Kilmarnock will have left Rugby Park feeling that they should have taken one of their many chances. Valakari admitted that the Saints “needed our luck” to help them hold onto their draw.
The Finn made a point of emphasising that his team have the character and resilience required to defend deep and put their bodies on the line. Simo said – “Is that the way we want to play? No. But we have shown that we can play that way”. He also spoke of the team spirit in the dressing room, stating that “we are all here playing for each other”.
St Johnstone will host high-flying Dundee at McDiarmid Park in their next game on Saturday the 7th of November.
