14/12/2024 – ST. JOHNSTONE (A)

“Winners never quit and quitters never win”

Not the words of our CEO Paul McGrath, but those of Vincent Lombardi. The American was wise enough to say something so profound it is timeless and covers everything in life, and it sums up Saturday in Perth for St. Mirren perfectly.

We admit it, after St. Johnstone took a 2-1 lead on 81 minutes, our thoughts drifted towards defeat, however unlike us, the players never quit and actually went up several gears to not only draw the match, but go on to win it.

The main reason for this in our humble opinion, was the impact of the substitutes, in particular Luke Kenny, Roland Idowu and Evan Mooney.

Saints had been toiling somewhat in the second half, but once Luke Kenny marshalled a 3 on 2 against him and Marcus Fraser superbly, timing his tackle with such perfection that he advanced with the ball like Franco Baresi (google him kids), then the mood in the away end, as well as on the park seemed to change dramatically.

Sure, we lost a goal 3 mins later, but the confidence this tackle gave to the team and support was the catalyst for what followed, and nobody is going to convince us otherwise!

Forced to chase the match after falling behind, Saints sprung into life, with the movement of young Evan Mooney and Toyosi Olusanya, causing havoc within the St. Johnstone defence.

With 2 minutes remaining of regulation time, the Paisley pressure paid off when Mooney scored his first goal in professional football, in only his second appearance.

Having turned 17 just a few days beforehand, he can’t join Ricky Gillies in the 16 year old goal scoring club, however he will have a claim to be the youngest ever scorer for Saints in the top flight, not a bad accolade at all.

The finish was instinctive and composed, a cool volley belying his younger years, and with seven minutes added on, the momentum was now with the Paisley Saints.

Straight from kick off, Roland Idowu surged forward some 40 yards with the ball, a lung bursting run that Killian Phillips would be proud of, and created another chance. Everyone in the stadium knew that there was now going to be only one winner.

Saints kept the pressure up, and deep into the seven minutes of additional time, Idowu’s shot hit the arm of Jason Holt. We say “hit the arm”, but the Perth man was practically playing basketball with his outstretched hand.

Incredibly, it needed VAR intervention before the referee decided it was a penalty, but a chance to win was presented to Saints. Mark O’Hara stepped up and seen his penalty agonisingly saved, but VAR intervened again to correctly order a retake.

This time, Idowu was entrusted with the kick, and without any fuss or drama, calmly sent the St Johnstone keeper the wrong way to win the match for Saints. It was an incredible ending to a match that in truth was a bit turgid overall, however absolutely nobody with a black and white scarf was complaining.

This was a big win, particularly after the disappointment of the last few weeks, and gives us a platform for the rest of the calendar year to cement our place in the top 6, where we find ourselves again after Saturday.

For our blood pressure, we’d take some routine and comfortable wins, but where’s the fun in that, so we endorse fully the mayhem of Saturday and expect more of the same.

Our advice is to strap yourselves in fellow Buddies, it’s going to be another rollercoaster. Fortunately, the kids are now old enough to ride with us.

COYS!

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St. Johnstone Players of the Match:

5 points – Evan Mooney

3 points – Luke Kenny

1 point – Roland Idowu