St Johnstone’s season is starting to pick up momentum.
They have opened up an eight-point gap over the team they defeated at the weekend, Dundee United.
Good performances are being turned into good results.
Courier Sport picks out three talking points from Saturday’s victory at Tannadice.
Goals that matter
Stevie May will never hit the numbers of that 2013/14 season again.
But there are signs his value to a St Johnstone team could rival the career-defining campaign.
With Nicky Clark beside him, May looks a player reborn.
They’re already complementing each other like two men whose partnership has been worked on for months rather than weeks.
It’s probably already time to start a bit of revisionist history on May’s second spell at McDiarmid Park.
Many would have you believe it’s a poor relation to the first.
It might not have been as spectacular but it’s not fanciful to label this one MORE important.
Of his 16 goals in the Premiership or Premiership play-off since re-signing from Aberdeen, just two have been part of matches lost.
Winners in previous seasons against the Dons, St Mirren, two at Hamilton, his strikes at Fir Park and now Tannadice this term and, of course, the one that transformed the play-off second leg in May were all big moments in time.
He’s only 29 and is once more in the ‘must pick’ category for his manager.
Write Stevie May off at your peril.
Don’t take the back three for granted
There have been times when analysis of Davidson’s team has been consumed by formation talk.
He has tweaked his midfield and forward line set-up more than some might think but a central defensive three has by-and-large remained a constant.
It’s been the stick wielded by the Davidson doubters in times of peril more than any other.
Even though there was a bit of a late siege of the Saints penalty box at Tannadice – and Alex Mitchell made an extremely rare error of judgment with his clearing header for Tony Watt’s goal – the present day unit looks as effective in a defensive sense as the double-winning one.
Saturday’s game was a reminder that the foundation this solidity gives a team – and the performances levels of the players and the coaching ability of the management who ensure it functions efficiently – should not be taken for granted.
As United showed, having three centre-backs on the pitch doesn’t automatically afford a side security.
They need to know when to press, when to drop, how to cover for their team-mate and showcase many more under-the-radar skills.
They also need an effective central midfield shield (Ryan McGowan performed that role magnificently) and a goalkeeper who knows when to come off his line and when to stay back (Remi Matthews was again a reassuring presence).
The second Hearts goal at the end of August was an example of Saints being exposed down the side of one of their centre-halves – as Liam Fox’s men were twice at the weekend – but that’s pretty much been it.
There was a glaring gap in quality and unison between the St Johnstone and Dundee United backlines on Saturday.
Davidson has four players on top form who can fill his three.
He won’t be altering this formation anytime soon.
The numbers game
No two seasons are the same so year on year comparisons come with a big asterisk.
But Saints now have an opportunity of hitting a wins milestone that took a whole lot longer to be reached in the 2021/22 campaign.
They are the best part of a month earlier in posting league victory number three (ironically, that was against Dundee United as well).
More significantly, if Saints beat Kilmarnock in midweek they’ll reach four wins FOUR months quicker than before.
It wasn’t until February 1, Livingston away, that Callum Davidson’s side ticked that particular box.
And, to continue the compare and contrast theme, Saints only need to draw at Rugby Park to make their current run of form better than anything they put together in the Premiership last season.
Two wins and a draw was as good as it got.
Conversation