St. Johnstone continued their unbeaten start to the league season, with wingers Kai Fotheringham and Josh McPake scoring second half goals to pick up a hard earned 2-1 victory over Dunfermline Athletic.

The visitors had taken the lead two minutes before the half time whistle through forward Rory Macleod, but a determined, domineering St. Johnstone were able to cancel this out once they regained a foothold on the game.

The result leaves Simo Valakari’s men top of the table, having only dropped 2 points from their opening six matches, whilst Neil Lennon’s side are still yet to win two games in the league consecutively, since his arrival late on last season.

The home side nearly took the lead on the 3rd minute, when Josh McPake stole the ball from Dunfermline captain Kyle Benedictus deep in the Pars half, but his effort was saved by Mason Munn in the Dunfermline net.

Benedictus’ heart was in his mouth again just four minutes later, when Saints captain Jason Holt fell inside the penalty box following a challenge from the centre back. Referee Matthew MacDermid awarded a goal kick to Dunfermline rather than a penalty, with a furious Holt protesting the decision, as well as Benedictus and his teammates, suggesting the midfielder took a dive. There is no VAR to re-referee in the Scottish Championship, remember.

St. Johnstone controlled the opening quarter of an hour, but despite their dominance, did not create anything meaningful. Left midfielder Josh McPake, who has scored two in his last two, was at the centre of anything Saints were doing offensively, causing havoc when cutting onto his right foot, and created Saint Johnstone’s best chance when his curling cross from the left was met by right back Adam Forrester, but again Munn was equal to his close range effort.

Dunfermline took a while to get going, but when they did, they changed the perception of the match. Their first chance of the game was made around 25 minutes in, a bobbling cross on the deck from Zak Rudden that was hastily defended by St. Johnstone, and this is what seemed to give the Dunfermline players and healthy number of travelling supporters a new lease of life.

Pars’ summer signing Jefferson Caceres, who tried catching goalkeeper Toby Steward off his line from range a couple times already, played a dipping cross from the left flank on his right foot on the 43rd minute. The ball curled over everyone and bounced invitingly for young striker Rory Macleod, who fired the ball high into the left side of the goal with aplomb, marking the first league goal of the 19 year-old’s senior career, and giving his side the lead as the teams headed up the tunnel for halftime.

The hosts though started the second half just as they did the first, with total control. A 50th minute corner was met the glancing head of Adama Sidibeh, forcing another great stop out of Munn, but it only went as far as Kai Fotheringham who tapped the ball into an empty net to level the scoring.

But the breakthrough came for the home side in the 82nd minute. Sub James Gullan whipped a looping ball on from the touchline halfway into the Pars half, sailing over everyone and was met by that man Josh McPake, who’s first time finish completed the turnaround for the league leaders and queued the rendition of the Saint’s faithful’s version of ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA for the talented left winger.

Dunfermline chased an equaliser and so nearly had it in the last minute of added time. Andrew Tod’s free kick crashed off the post, before a resulting rebound was tipped onto the bar for a corner, which was then met by the rising Jeremiah Chilkoa-Mullen, forcing Steward into a diving save to protect the points being shared.

St. Johnstone look to continue their vein of form next week, as they travel to Airdrieonians on Tuesday, whilst Neil Lennon will face Scott Brown as Ayr United visit East End Park.

JOHNSTONE: Steward 5, Foulds 5 (Boyes 2), Diabate 6, Baird 6, Forrester 6, McPake 8, Holt 7, McAlear 7, Svedberg 4 (Wanner 5), Fotheringham 7 (Gullan 6), Sidbeh 5 (Ikpeazu 2)

DUNFERMLINE: Munn 7, Otoo 6, Chilokoa-Mullen 6, Benedictus 5, Fraser 5, Amade 6 (Ritchie-Hosler 2), Gilmour 5, Kearney 6, Caceres 6, Rudden 2 (Tod 4), Macleod 7(Oakley-Boothe 2)