Since settling into the managerial office at McDiarmid Park 18 months ago, it hasn’t always been a bed of roses for Callum Davidson.
Two memorable cup triumphs glossed over the sluggish start to last term’s league campaign.
But Davidson found himself in unfamiliar territory reflecting on a traumatic 3-0 loss to a Livingston side which had been overcome in the Betfred Cup final at the start of the year and could barely recall their last win on the road.
The trademark of this Perth side since Davidson’s arrival has been solidity, organisation and a mean streak when it has come to conceding goals.
It endured even in the face of enforced changes from last season’s triumvirate of Liam Gordon, Jamie McCart and departed skipper Jason Kerr.
Incredulity over what unfolded
But second half substitute James Brown, picking over the bones of an inexplicably error-strewn performance which had yielded three goals before his introduction, shared his manager’s incredulity over what had unfolded.
Shaun Rooney had limped out of the fray after 22 minutes with an ankle injury and neither Michael O’Halloran or an accident prone Efe Ambrose completed the game after smashing into each other in the build-up to Livi’s third midway through the second half.
Given pre-match talk of the depth of this Perth squad, it wasn’t surprising that former Millwall defender Brown wasn’t casting around for excuses after the biggest defeat of the campaign.
“As players we know we weren’t anywhere near what we have set in the past,” he admitted frankly.
“We weren’t at our best and that was pretty clear.
“The boys in the changing room don’t have to be told we let ourselves down. We are all disappointed.
“Even when we haven’t played well we have been defensively solid.
Wake-up call for Saints
“We set the tone for ourselves early. We got off to a poor start and regardless of the goal we didn’t do the right things.
“That gave them a leg-up in the game and we never really recovered.
“That game isn’t going to define our season.
“Maybe it has given us a bit of a wake-up call, a reality check after the success we have had.
“But we can’t dwell on it. We have a big game against Celtic next week and we have to put in a performance.”
The jitters which invaded the unfamiliar Saints backline were apparent in the opening minute, when former Livingston star Ambrose got himself in an almighty fankle trying to clear from his own penalty area.
Keeper Zander Clark was required to block a close range Cristain Montano header but in the third minute he was beaten by on-loan Birmingham attacker Odin Bailey’s low shot.
If that was bad, the second was worse. Much worse.
Stalwart Liam Craig, presented with a framed shirt to mark his all-time appearance record pre-match, had rattled the crossbar soon after the opener.
But Livingston doubled their advantage in the 29th minute in bizarre fashion.
Clark’s pass caught McCart off-guard, the ball clipped the central defender’s heel and sailed towards Anderson, who gleefully thrashed his shot low into the corner from the edge of the box.
Livingston might have been anxious had an Ambrose header found the net rather than slide past the post soon after the interval.
But the third, in 66 minutes, again made for incredulous viewing for the vast majority in a 4,000-plus crowd.
Livingston secured a first Premiership away win since February with an emphatic 3-0 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Saturday afternoon! 🔥
Match highlights 👇 pic.twitter.com/awErP0iwRr
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) October 16, 2021
Midfield runner Scott Pittman finished off danger man Anderson’s cross at point blank range following a ball booted down the park by their keeper.
But neither Ambrose nor O’Halloran saw the final touch, with a sickening collision leaving them strewn across the turf as Anderson sensed an opportunity. Neither saw out the 90 minutes.
Chris Kane did persevere and keeper Max Stryjek was called into action to tip his powerful header over the crossbar.
‘We will have to be much better’
Saints could point to a McCart lob which fell over the target but Livingston were frustrated by a goal-denying Lars Dendoncker block which thwarted Anderson.
Saints now have to lick those self-inflicted wounds in advance of a weekend journey to face Celtic.
“We will have another week of training and hopefully have a few back from injury,” said Brown, although Rooney is already rated doubtful.
“We know it will be tough but we thrive on big occasions. So we will go there and enjoy it.
“But obviously we will have to be much better. We won’t let that performance get us down too much.
“We have to make sure this was a one-off. Our goal is to be up there in the top six and pushing bigger teams in this league.”
But there’s no doubt this was a setback to a team which went into the international break in fine fettle, having secured a derby win over Dundee with a degree of style.
‘A couple of players didn’t perform’
It’s fair to say Davidson hadn’t seen this performance coming.
“It wasn’t the afternoon I wanted. It wasn’t the first three minutes I wanted. They were everything you would ask them not to do,” said the Saints manager.
“When you concede goals like that you don’t win football matches.
“In the 18 months I have been here one of our strengths has been doing the basics right.
“We did work hard as a team but we just made too many individual errors.
“We allowed three of the most simple goals Livingston will probably ever score.
“I have to say it’s not like us. We have been really good defensively.
“But a couple of players didn’t perform to the level I would like.”
Winning manager’s reaction
Lions manager Davie Martindale was delighted to post his first away win on the road this term.
Did it provide a measure of consolation for the Betfred Cup final defeat at Hampden?
“It’s no revenge, the cup final got dropped two hours after the whistle.
“You have to try and forget those sort of games, to be honest.”
