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4 St Johnstone talking points as Rangers game could increase prospect of Adama Sidibeh bids and new Benji Kimpioka contract is a priority

The Perth club's attackers played a big part in the first league victory of the season at Kilmarnock.

Benji Kimpioka and Adama Sidibeh were both on form for St Johnstone at Kilmarnock.
Benji Kimpioka and Adama Sidibeh were both on form for St Johnstone at Kilmarnock. Images: SNS.

St Johnstone have Premiership points on the board.

Craig Levein’s team were clinical at Rugby Park, taking advantage of an uncharacteristically sloppy Kilmarnock defence to post the sort of away victory that sees fans and journalists digging into the archives for comparative results and scorelines.

Suffice to say, it’s been a while since Saints won by three goals away from home in the Premiership.

Courier Sport picks out four talking points from an unexpectedly glorious late summer’s afternoon in Ayrshire.


Spotlight elsewhere

The importance of a first league win can’t be downplayed.

Getting it early relaxes everybody – fans, owners, management and players.

And at a stage of the year when outside observers are looking for an early season ‘crisis club’ storyline to latch on to, the winless tag is one you really want to cast off before the first Premier Sports Cup break in the campaign.

In St Johnstone’s case, you have to factor in the off-field Cammy MacPherson stuff, whatever your opinion is on the various strands of the social media furore.

A poor team performance and a defeat, with MacPherson in the starting line-up, would have brought a dark cloud over McDiarmid Park, with no prospect of it passing anytime soon.

St Johnstone captain Kyle Cameron celebrates the win at Kilmarnock.
St Johnstone captain Kyle Cameron celebrates the win at Kilmarnock. Image: SNS.

Football-wise, the fact that this was such an emphatic result, albeit against 10 men for a big chunk of the match, matters.

Any club half-expecting to be in a relegation battle or close to it, hopes to see one of their rivals shaping up to be a possible Livingston of last season.

St Johnstone have put down a marker that Dundee United, Ross County, Motherwell and the rest will likely need to look elsewhere.


Sidibeh suitors

Give St Johnstone supporters one wish for the remainder of the transfer window and it probably wouldn’t be a new signing that would top the poll.

August turning into September with Adama Sidibeh still at the club is their chief hope.

All football logic suggests he will benefit from at least another half-season in the Premiership, probably a full one, before he’s ready for the English Championship.

There are still rough edges.

But he’s a late starter to professional football and if a club down south decides to table an offer much higher than Swansea City’s a few weeks ago and Saints agree to sell, there’s little prospect Sidibeh would do a Danny Griffin and say ‘McDiarmid Park is the place for me to develop my career for a while longer’.

The Gambia international has made a stunning impact as a full-time footballer, scoring nine goals since stepping up from non-league obscurity.

Sidibeh’s match fitness is still some way off where it needs to be – he was far less effective in the second half against Kilmarnock than in the first.

That will increase game on game, however.

Adama Sidibeh scores his second goal for St Johnstone at Kilmarnock.
Adama Sidibeh scores his second goal for St Johnstone at Kilmarnock. Image: Shutterstock.

And the quality of his two goals – showcasing power, close control and penalty box instincts – mark him out as a player possessing the raw ability to thrive in the English second tier.

Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup clash with Rangers could be a sliding doors fixture.

Sidibeh has scored his goals against Dundee, Hibs, Livingston, Ross County, Motherwell, East Fife and Kilmarnock.

There are only two league games left before the window closes, with Dundee United and Motherwell the opponents.

Finding the net against either of those sides wouldn’t significantly elevate the 26-year-old’s reputation beyond where it is now.

Finding the net for the first time against one of the big Glasgow teams on live TV would.

You can be sure the potential Sidibeh suitors will be watching.


Kimpioka’s class

There were six players involved, 11 passes and one nutmeg of a defender before Benji Kimpioka was tripped by Lewis Mayo for the penalty that settled nerves and settled the match outcome.

It was as impressive a team move as St Johnstone have produced in a long time.

But Kimpioka’s skill was the biggest factor in a patient and slick passage of play being turned into a goal.

The former Sunderland man is getting better and better.

Kimpioka drew three fouls in the second half when he was holding the ball up with his back to a centre-half – not quite Chris Kane standards yet but a vast improvement on the first few months after his arrival from Sweden.

Benji Kimpioka earns his team a penalty at Rugby Park.
Benji Kimpioka earns his team a penalty at Rugby Park. Image: Shutterstock.

And he’s got the quickest feet of any Saints striker since Fran Sandaza.

That’s two penalties he has earned for his team already this season as a result of defenders being lured into a rash challenge.

Extending Kimpioka’s contract is a more realistic prospect than his strike-partner’s.

It should be treated as a strategic priority.


Under the radar contributions

The excellent St Johnstone centre-forwards and the cumbersome Kilmarnock defenders were the difference-makers in this contest.

Andre Raymond was another Perth man of the match contender – what a difference his dynamism, acceleration and ability to pick out a team-mate in the box has made to the threat Saints carry on the left side of the pitch.

The need for a controlling central midfielder and another centre-half hasn’t evaporated on the back of one victory.

Aaron Essel had a good game in central midfield.
Aaron Essel had a good game in central midfield. Image: SNS.

But the manner in which Aaron Essel unspectacularly went about the business of putting himself in the right positions and making the right decisions was a noteworthy step forward – as was his avoidance of a yellow card on an afternoon when nine were handed out.

And, at the back, Jack Sanders picked up where he left off as a second half substitute for the unfortunate Sam McClelland against Aberdeen and largely did well in the middle of the back three.

A shout from the main stand that Kilmarnock had let the wrong centre-back leave in the summer speaks to a job well done on his Rugby Park return.

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