Acht

Games involving St Johnstone tend not to have great atmosphere, but for the 30 minutes on Saturday, our fans made a raucous noise and surely provided some form of motivation to the players selected by Derek McInnes. Unfortunately, the players themselves seemed totally indifferent and when Midgie was withdrawn, the final nail was hammered into the coffin of defeat.

In a dreadful game, there was little to sign about. Nevertheless, it’s certainly no excuse for the tiny minority of balm pots turning on a female steward for simply doing her job; protecting the safety of fans and the integrity of the stadium. Seems that we have too many bairns who can’t handle alcohol and disappointment at the same time. Guess they don’t get sex very often!

In a strange break from the norm, Derek McInnes almost got the team selection correct (I’d have played Adams ahead of Murray but that’s only one small point) and got the shape exactly right. Big Sam Parkin found the net with almost every practise shot whilst Peaso missed almost every shot. Although these things can be no pointer to the game, it perhaps suggests that Sam has shown up better in training this week...

He linked well with Mayzo, despite the pair only having played once together – a reserve affair against Cowdenbeath at Tulloch. Mayzo himself looked great and showed terrific bravery on the ball. It was also good to see him go a shift without a blatant dive. Why the puppets on the forum think he needs a break is beyond me. He’s probably never played less football in his life!

Parkin did his usual trick of dropping wide and running into the centre creating space for May, unfortunately both Muzz and Morris were unable to advance. Midgie struggled to break and whilst Liam and Danny linked well, their crosses often went begging.

The drive and fluency that I associate with our best midfields was horrendously absent, so much so that JMW would have been a welcome addition. During the week I had a meeting with some fans of the smaller Tayside clubs and both agreed that when Saints play the ball, we are almost unbeatable. With the Tulloch Stadium in wonderful nick, we should have made the ball do all the work which would have suited Mayzo and Liam. Regrettably we just didn’t get going.

Despite a few half chances, we probably didn’t have one shot on target. Esson palmed away a Nova effort near the death but it looked a few inches wide of Ryan’s right hand post. If only the same could be said for Enckleman.

The first goal came from a corner won by Rooney. The wee ginger kid, stood in front of Enckleman and Anderson (who won the tackle that led to the corner) shackled him well. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Murray Davidson who lost Ross Tokely, allowing the burly skipper to head into the far top corner. Having seen the replay, Tokely moved well, but Muzz should have done better.

The reaction from the goal was more than worrying. Duberry patted Muzz on the bum, whilst every player seemed to fall silent. Skipper Morris jogged forward, a lone figure in the Saints half. There was simply no outward sign of hurt or passion, or any of the base emotions that pitch side fans need to spur them on. The players often ask for increased vocal support, but they have a part to play in ensuring we respond to them. The impassive shrug won’t generate noise.

The loss of Millar might not have been noticed in the stands, but our players trust Midgie implicitly whilst his replacement is odd, at best. There’s no doubt that, like JMW, Nova is full of talent and tricks. Unfortunately, like JMW, it seems he doesn’t have a footballing brain. I am very concerned that he has no end product and one shot on goal has done little to change my mind. His back heel/dummy at the edge of the box late in the second half showed that he has a quick brain and good reading of the ball. Those attributes count for nought if he can’t learn cross or cut into the box.

I actually wonder if the wee refugee could play up front, perhaps with May. He certainly has enough in his portfolio to beat a man and there’s nobody more clinical than wee Mayzo. One thing that Nova can’t say is that he has been stuck in on position. In 60 minutes, he played, right of a front three, right midfield, centre midfield, left midfield and left of a front three!

Whilst normally I’d lambast Del for farting about with his team to such a manic degree, his constant shuffling was an act of desperation; trying to breathe life into a dying team. Throughout the game we witnessed Midgie, Nova, Muzz, May and Liam on the right wing at various points.

The alternative was to do nothing and hope for a miracle or a blunder. Neither seemed destined to happen, so no real criticism for Del from me.

The first substitution was undoubtedly the wrong one, we should have gambled on Reynolds. The gangly, front man has played very well on the wing against such disparate teams as Turriff and Celtic. With Mayzo confirming the old Graham Rix adage about being old enough when you’re good enough, I’d have expected Del to be less reluctant to play the U19s. Given Nova and Liam’s reliance on their left feet, Reynolds was the obvious option. His introduction would have allowed us to play the same shape or change to 4-3-3.

The other subby that would have made sense, would be the introduction of Adams, allowing Jody or Jamie to play in front of a midfield two. Mayzo would have to move to the right wing, but the extra body in midfield might have pushed us further up the park. The danger with the latter subby is that it would be seen as a negative change at a point where we were one nil down but competing well. Such is Derek’s dilemma.

Running through the players on an individual basis I’d comment:

Enckleman – Seemed distracted throughout the game. I’d have expected him to really bond with the fans at this game, yet he made no effort to do so – even during the warm-up. Helpless at the goals, not much else to do. Kicking was a bit better.

Mackay – Struggled once Midgie went off as he couldn’t form a partnership. Committed heavily in the second half and left us wide open in the right back area but we had little option in the circumstances.

Duberry – Big, black and solid at the back. Despite missing some of the training this week, the big lad got stuck in and made very few errors.

Anderson - Kept Rooney quiet for most of the game. Strong early tackles set him up for the game. 

Grainger – Battled hard and had the better of his man for most of the game.

Midgie – Struggled to make much impact but always grafts for the team. His injury will be a big loss.

Morris – Decent game, but simply didn’t stamp any authority on the midfield. Has to show more leadership in the face of adversity.

Muzz – Arguably sold the first goal, but redeemed himself a wee bit with a few good tackles. Missed another sitter at the death and Adams would have been a better choice.

Craig – Much better performance in the opening spell thereafter was moved around the park and struggled to commit forward. Best suited to the left wing and linking well with Danny G again.

Parkin – Good shift which produced next to nothing. Run his socks off and won plenty in the air.

Mayzo – Arguably his best game to date. Brave running and oozing confidence. Must play our next game...whenever that is!

Nova – As above, plenty skill but no end product.

Jacko – Couple of well timed runs into space, but he’s miles off form and shouldn’t have been introduced.

Peaso – Not much time to make an impact.

Del – Can’t be held responsible for the poor performance. The players let him down and that’s something that can’t be said too often.

Overall, a bad day at the office. The top six looks impossible, but we have a cup final to win so no doom and gloom here! The disappointment must be tempered with the knowledge that, yet again, we’re fighting for top six with a budget which is paltry and one of the smallest attendances in the SPL.

We’re doing well, let’s keep supporting the Saints.