Hyperbole and football often go together, with ordinary players hailed as stars and decent matches tagged thrillers.
However, when it is written that this game should have not could have ended up at least 10-0 to St Johnstone it is not an exaggeration.
The distance between these two teams was as long as the A9 OK, so maybe that’s stretching it a bit.
The home men were so far ahead of Ross County that this “contest” resembled a cup-tie between a leading top-flight side, which is what Saints are, and a team of minnows from the lower leagues, which County are not.
Here’s the argument for the double-figures scenario . . .
You have the four goals.
Number one was a terrific flick by Nigel Hasselbaink on 14 minutes after great work by Murray Davidson earned space from which to cut it back to the frontman.
Then came the second just four minutes later, and it was even better than Hasselbaink’s. After Staggies defender Scott Boyd had been lucky to stay on the park after hacking down Stevie May, up stepped man-of-the-match David Wotherspoon to fire home the freekick from 25 yards.
Just four minutes into the second period it was 3-0. A pass from Steven MacLean sliced through County’s dismal defence and May took a touch, cut back inside, then shot into the net.
The fourth arrived on 62 minutes and was another great set piece, this time skipper Dave Mackay sidefooting the ball perfectly past goalie Mark Brown. But there was so much more.
Just a minute after Saints had gone two up, May flicked the ball over the bar when it seemed easier to score, Steven Anderson headed just inches wide on 35 minutes, with Brown helpless to stop it had it been better placed.
Oh, and the Perth men missed a penalty just minutes after that chance when Wotherspooon was pulled down inside the box by Ben Gordon. The former Hibs man got up but had his shot saved by Brown, and May scooped the rebound over the bar from close range.
That setback didn’t bother Saints, though, and they should have scored again when Davidson was sent clean through on goal by a pass from Hasselbaink four minutes from the break.
However, the midfielder slid his shot just wide when he should have burst the net. It should have been seven and that was just the first half.
Just three minutes after the interval, MacLean had the ball in the net only to be flagged for offside. After May had made it three, he had another golden opportunity when found by a Hasselbaink cutback but blazed the ball over.
Davidson then worried Brown with a firmly-struck long-range drive that just missed its target. Mackay’s goal was followed five minutes later by a volley from Frazer Wright that missed by inches.
It was so easy for the home team that they comfortably played out the closing stages with only 10 men after Wright went off injured, with their three substitutions having been made.
Do you see what I mean? This was a genuine, bonafide battering for County.
They were absolutely hammered, and the game could surely claim to be the most one-sided Scottish top-flight league match not involving Celtic for a long, long time.
Staggies boss Derek Adams had said after their home defeat to Partick Thistle a week earlier that it was the worst he had seen his team play.
That he didn’t think this performance was worse, merely equal to the Jags game, has to be extremely concerning for the Dingwall club. This was relegation form and their defence, in particular, looked dreadful.
What he did admit, though, was that his side were outclassed.
“St Johnstone were far better than us and deserved to win the match,” he said.
“They’ve got a vastly experienced side. They passed, created chances and probably bullied us on the park. We didn’t play well defensively, and offensively we didn’t cause them trouble.
“We were rock solid last season, with the second-best defensive record,” he added. We changed personnel and other players have come in. They haven’t performed well enough and we have to get back to doing the basics right.
“The older players that were here last season have to pull up their socks.”
Saints boss Tommy Wright, who is enjoying a hugely-satisfying start to his tenure as number one, declared that the display from his players was the best he had seen since joining as Steve Lomas’s assistant two years ago.
“It was super,” he said.
“Since I’ve been at the club it’s probably been the best performance from start to finish. We totally dominated and controlled the game.
“The number of chances we created caused them problems all day. They have set the standard. We are good defensively and we made it really difficult for them when they did have the ball, which wasn’t very often.”
Meanwhile, Wright revealed there had been no fresh bids for May from Peterborough, and urged the club to set a deadline on the forward’s future before the end of the month.
“Since Wednesday there have been no further developments,” Wright said.
“I’ve spoken to the chairman and I feel that we have to put a deadline on it to be fair to ourselves. I don’t want him going right on deadline day. I think we’ve got to look after ourselves and, if he does go, he goes in plenty of time for us to get someone to replace him.”