St Johnstone

A glancing Makenzie Kirk header gave the Saints a much needed victory at McDiarmid Park. The result means Kilmarnock must now overcome a slump of their own if they are to fight their way back into the top six. Killie began the fixture looking like to home side but the Saints grew into the game quickly. Benjamin Kimpioka’s curling shot parried by Robby McCrorie was the closest either side would come to a goal in the first half. Joe Wright fired one for the visiting side from distance but it sailed over the bar. Danny Armstrong similarly unable to hit the target with a free kick of his own, the ball passing comfortably past Josh Rae’s left-hand side. David Watson’s thigh injury meant he was replaced by Fraser Murray at the break as manager Derek McInnes was hampered in his attempts to find an equaliser. The second half seemed to pick up where the first left off with few chances created. That was until Andre Raymond’s whipped cross was met by a fantastic header from Makenzie Kirk to open the scoring. St. Johnstone had lost their previous three games but you wouldn’t have guessed it judging by their performance, looking much improved with the ball at their feet as the game progressed. In something of a rarity, they also looked solid at the back. The fourteen corners they defended without conceding a marked improvement on weeks gone by. Meanwhile Killie’s struggles to find the target continued, Liam Donnelly firing yet another shot over the bar for the away side. His evening would soon go from bad to worse as a second yellow saw the midfielder leave his side a man short for the second time this season. Unable to crack the defence open, they make the trip home empty handed once again. Resolute Saints hold out The honeymoon had clearly ended for manager Simo Valakari but tonight’s result helped prevent disillusionment from rearing its head in Perth. Three defeats in a row did not spell the end of the world but the Saints had some questions to answer about their defensive solidity. With twenty-seven shipped in thirteen, they entered this fixture as the league’s leakiest backline. Fair to say an impressive display for only their second clean sheet of the season will have put some of those questions on the back-burner. A first start for Bozo Mikulic, Valakari’s first signing, saw him paired with Jack Sanders at the back. The duo keeping out Marley Watkins and Darius Vassell, no mean feat given the damage they’ve done to other teams this season. Difficult games against Rangers and Aberdeen await in the coming weeks but the display tonight will give the side now just three points off to top six a much needed boost. Killie yet to kick on A fifteen minute delay to kick-off was perhaps a bit of foreshadowing for the side still waiting to get their own season going. Finishing fourth represented a big achievement for the Ayrshire side last season but McInnes’ ambitions will not let him be satisfied with it being a once in a few years occasion. The European run had stunted their start to the campaign but a few months on and with the international breaks in between, tired legs have ceased to be an excuse. Now with three defeats on the trot, the manager will need to re-energise his side if they are to fight their way back into the top half, now sitting six points behind St. Mirren. As the game wore on it became difficult enough for them to score with eleven men, but Liam Donnelly’s second yellow made the task all the more difficult. It is the fifth time they have seen a man sent off this season. Speaking to SPFL News Now, McInnes’ acknowledged his frustrations with the performance of the officials but was quick to point that they had ‘not lost the game because the referee, I need to stress that’.