Elation and relief filled the McDiarmid Park sky after Alan Muir blew his whistle following seven minutes of injury time, the third of which featured a Steven Fletcher shot that smashed Remi Matthews’ right hand post.
St Johnstone had a home win at last and there’s breathing space above the bottom two again.
Courier Sport picks out three talking points from the 1-0 victory over Dundee United.
Keeping the best strikers quiet
The Saints defence was under real scrutiny by the time Callum Davidson left the club.
There had been eight games in a row without a nil to their name and, in half of those, their opponent scored two or more.
Davidson’s assertion that cutting out mistakes and earning clean sheets would open up the pathway to Premiership safety might not have gone down well with some in the fan base but his words have been prophetic.
St Johnstone have taken a huge step towards securing Scottish Premiership safety after a hard-fought 1-0 win over 10-man Dundee United ▶️ pic.twitter.com/8AQ0iZawOq
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 6, 2023
In Steven MacLean’s two games in charge, Matthews has barely had a save to make.
Yes, Fletcher came close to ruining the afternoon but, for the most part, Liam Gordon and Andy Considine did a fine job of shackling United’s chief attacking threat over the course of the game.
And the same applied to Kevin Nisbet – a different style of number nine but another of the league’s most lethal strikers – a fortnight earlier.
Without wanting to go back over defensive formation ground again, it’s undeniable that Gordon and Considine have clicked as a partnership and that a rearguard four is working effectively.
And what a challenge they’ve got next – the forward who has scored 12 goals in his last seven games.
Should they keep Kevin van Veen quiet – which neither Celtic nor Rangers have managed to do over the last couple of months – St Johnstone will truly have their reputation back of being a team you need to work hard to beat.
Confident Carey
Graham Carey’s output in a St Johnstone shirt hasn’t matched his talent and pedigree.
A season that started promisingly had drifted into mediocrity even before the team’s results and performances mirrored the Irishman’s individual displays.
You would have expected him to write his name all over a few matches but, for whatever reason, that hasn’t happened.
He probably wouldn’t have started against United had David Wotherspoon or Connor McLennan been fit but this was an opportunity seized.
Carey’s numbers were highest in so many key components of the game – final third entries, touches, passes, passes that found a team-mate, crosses, dribbles and dribbles with an end product.
It was his clever ball down the left wing that set Melker Hallberg off on the run that forced Charlie Mulgrew into the foul that saw him sent off just after the hour mark.
And it was his wonderful individual skill that made a World Cup player, Aziz Behich, look foolish.
It’s been a while since Carey opened up his box of tricks.
That he felt comfortable to try it is hopefully a sign of soaring confidence and him feeling like a main man again.
This was his best game since the 3-0 defeat of St Mirren at the start of September.
When he skied a glorious chance over the bar at Livingston in Davidson’s final match, the prospect of Carey ending the season as Saints’ go-to creative threat seemed a very remote one.
Not anymore.
Just one more win
It’s possible that St Johnstone have now reached Premiership safety.
The bookmakers’ odds certainly back-up Jim Goodwin’s hunch that it’s now a three-way fight to stay up.
Saints are priced at 50/1 to finish bottom, Ross County are at 5/4, Kilmarnock 7/2 and United 11/4.
There was a fear – not one I subscribed to – that this was the worst possible time to face the Tangerines.
It turned out to be the best.
Either the two-week break had broken the Tannadice side’s upward momentum, the quality of their play in a three-game winning streak had been a bit exaggerated, or a combination of the two.
For Killie, it would appear the away day curse was merely paused in Paisley rather than punctured and, though County have got themselves a precious win, Livi have the look of a team that could lose all five.
The most significant bit for Saints, however, is that they no longer look like the worst team in the league, which was the case in March and April.
And having three matches of their post-split set at home actually actually feels like a good thing now that there’s some more grass on the pitch and the win drought has been ended.
Facing Livi at McDiarmid on the final day is as appealing a fixture to have in your back pocket as you could ask for.
One more win before then – possibly even only one more draw – will get the job done to avoid any last day stress.
Conversation