A potentially hazardous Scottish Communities League Cup tie was negotiated with unexpected ease by St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park thanks to a first-half goal blitz.
Last season’s lowest scorers in Britain look to have put their finishing problem behind them at last, in no small part thanks to Fran Sandaza.
The Spaniard grabbed an impressive double to add to Frazer Wright’s opener as First Division Livingston were swept aside.
The three goals came in the space of just 11 minutes and manager Derek McInnes was understandably delighted with the evening’s work.
He said: “On the back of an energy-sapping game against Celtic on Sunday this match was always a concern but we got the job done very well. Fran is an instinctive, selfish striker who isn’t scared to have a shot and it’s great to have that at the top end.”
Former Dunfermline winger Willie Gibson was signed on loan from Crawley Town yesterday afternoon and the necessary paperwork was completed in time for him to make his Saints debut.
McInnes commented: “Everybody knows we’ve been crying out for a winger and Willie has real quality in his crosses. Once he’s up to speed he’ll be a real asset to us.”
There was a first appearance of the season for Jamie Adams, and Steven Anderson also started. The three men to drop out from Sunday were David McCracken, Alan Maybury and Callum Davidson.
It was all Saints in the early stages and on seven minutes Murray Davidson came close to Andy McNeil’s right-hand post with a downward header from a Liam Craig cross. They only had another six minutes to wait for the opener. McNeil fumbled a Craig corner and Craig Barr was forced to clear behind. The second corner was taken from the left by Gibson and was lashed home from close range by Wright.
Livi threatened a quick leveller but Peter Enckelman produced an excellent save low to his left from a Liam Fox 25-yarder. It turned out to be a brief moment of activity in the home box as Saints went two up on 18 minutes.
Sandaza controlled the ball beautifully on the edge of the box and gave McNeil no chance with a fierce shot high into the net.
The match was all but over as a contest midway through the first half when Sandaza took a Cillian Sheridan pass in his stride and guided a left-foot shot this time from 10 yards out inside the far post.
The only negatives for Saints in an otherwise perfect opening 45 minutes were Wright leaving the field clutching his right leg shortly after the half-hour mark, and Davidson trudging off on the stroke of half-time.
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They were replaced by Maybury and David Robertson respectively. McInnes expects Davidson to miss Saturday’s Tayside derby against Dundee United with a medial ligament strain but Wright’s knee knock is less of a concern.
Livi enjoyed more possession as the second half progressed and started to carve out a few chances. On 59 minutes Paul Watson rose to meet a Keaghan Jacobs corner but his effort flew over.
At the other end Sandaza was on the hunt for a hat-trick and he forced a low save out of McNeil after he shot from just inside the box.
On 76 minutes ex-Saint Bobby Barr looked like scoring, but Maybury slid in to deflect his 15-yard shot wide. With four minutes left Sandaza could have been excused for shooting as he drove into the box but, unselfishly, he teed up substitute Marcus Haber, who tried an extravagant back heel which didn’t trouble McNeil.
The former Dundee United frontman had one last chance to get his third of the night but a shot on the turn in the dying moments went straight at McNeil.
The last kick of the ball fell to Gibson, whose first time shot from 18 yards scraped the wrong side of the crossbar.
Livi boss Gary Bollan reflected: “We got off to a poor start which was extremely hard to recover from but the players showed a bit of character in the second half.”
They were replaced by Maybury and David Robertson respectively. McInnes expects Davidson to miss Saturday’s Tayside derby against Dundee United with a medial ligament strain but Wright’s knee knock is less of a concern.
Livi enjoyed more possession as the second half progressed and started to carve out a few chances. On 59 minutes Paul Watson rose to meet a Keaghan Jacobs corner but his effort flew over.
At the other end Sandaza was on the hunt for a hat-trick and he forced a low save out of McNeil after he shot from just inside the box.
On 76 minutes ex-Saint Bobby Barr looked like scoring, but Maybury slid in to deflect his 15-yard shot wide. With four minutes left Sandaza could have been excused for shooting as he drove into the box but, unselfishly, he teed up substitute Marcus Haber, who tried an extravagant back heel which didn’t trouble McNeil.
The former Dundee United frontman had one last chance to get his third of the night but a shot on the turn in the dying moments went straight at McNeil.
The last kick of the ball fell to Gibson, whose first time shot from 18 yards scraped the wrong side of the crossbar.
Livi boss Gary Bollan reflected: “We got off to a poor start which was extremely hard to recover from but the players showed a bit of character in the second half.”