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3 St Johnstone talking points: Benji Kimpioka’s debut, midfield balance and benefit of the doubt after Airdrie tale of woe

The pressure will be on Saints to show their Scottish Cup exit was an aberration.

St Johnstone were knocked out of the cup by Airdrie.
St Johnstone were knocked out of the cup by Airdrie. Image: PPA.

St Johnstone’s ignominious defeat at Airdrie extended a lamentable run in knockout competitions of late.

That’s now five times in a row the Perth side have failed to get past the opening stage in the League Cup and Scottish Cup since Callum Davidson’s team followed up their 2021 double with another run to a Hampden Park semi-final.

Courier Sport picks out three talking points from the latest tale of woe.


The debutant

Loan recruit, Kerr Smith, has a slight hamstring injury so wasn’t available, while David Keltjens was an unused substitute.

Therefore, the only one of the three new signings the 1,000-plus Saints supporters got to see for the first time was Benji Kimpioka.

The 80-minute snapshot of the Swedish attacker’s skillset captured both the assets and the areas in need of improvement that those who worked with him previously had identified.

Kimpioka’s raw pace is indeed his calling card.

It can turn an average through-ball into a good one and there were a couple of occasions when he used it well to get Saints up the pitch.

When a Fran Franczak first half blocked tackle on the edge of the box saw the ball loop into the air, that speed off the mark helped him beat the Airdrie goalkeeper in a foot race, with his subsequent header going past the post.

There were also a couple of occasions when Kimpioka showcased impressive close control, spinning his marker adeptly in midfield.

Benji Kimpioka and Rhys McCabe in action.
Benji Kimpioka and Rhys McCabe in action. Image: PPA.

The negatives were a few squandered opportunities to beat a defender in and around the box, or pick out a team-mate, when he had an opponent squared up.

It would be unfair to expect too much from his first game in Scottish football and in a team that was functioning as poorly as Saints did in Lanarkshire.

You don’t make a dream debut in those circumstances.

Anybody inclined to rush to judgment should remember the converse scenario of Nadir Ciftci showing real promise at Tynecastle on Saints’ return from the 2021/22 winter break, then spectacularly failing to back it up.

In short, we need to see more of Kimpioka.

But if his penalty box work gets sharper – as you would expect it to – there’s certainly cause for optimism.


Midfield balance and a back four

As ever when things go wrong, the only reputations enhanced are those of players who weren’t on the pitch.

To state the obvious, Dan Phillips was sorely missed.

Graham Carey and Matt Smith have been two of Saints’ best players this season and Max Kucheriavyi has also put in some good performances as he’s taken his career to the next level.

But that starting midfield combination didn’t give Craig Levein anything close to the control and composure he would have expected from three ball players.

Introducing Sven Sprangler at half-time was the right call but it remained a disjointed display after the break, with wide areas becoming a cause for concern once Saints were operating with a back four.

Until the signing of somebody whose natural domain is out on the flank, the three centre-halves formation will remain the one that suits this set of players best.


Mitigation and perspective

It’s not wisdom after the event to suggest St Johnstone were likely to be vulnerable in this match.

In-form and in-rhythm Championship team versus three-and-a-half weeks off and lacking match sharpness Premiership side was a recipe for a cup shock if ever there was one.

Results like this pile a bit of short-term pressure on, of course.

That’s natural.

But since Levein arrived at McDiarmid Park, as he rightly pointed out, there’s been nothing nearly as poor for the duration of a whole game.

Even the first half at Rugby Park was an exception rather than the rule.

The bigger picture is that Saints are seven points above bottom of the Premiership, Livingston and in touching distance of a pack of other teams.

Get the right players out and the right players in before the window shuts and pick up where they left off the last time they played at home in their back to back fixtures at McDiarmid, and losing to Airdrie will be viewed as an aberration rather than a narrative shift.

These cup defeats to lower league sides are becoming an annoying theme but if there’s any doubt about the general direction of travel, Saints currently deserve the benefit of it.

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