St Mirren 0 - 3 St Johnstone: Buddies miss out on top six finish

Without a home win since Christmas Eve and with only two in their last 15 outings (both against First Division opposition), morale is low in Paisley. To make matters worse, St Mirren made life difficult for themselves from the get-go here, gifting their opponents an early goal to settle their nerves.

David van Zanten was the culprit with a passback which was woefully short. Marc McAusland attempted to rectify the situation with a saving tackle on Murray Davidson but the ball broke kindly for Lee Croft.

The on-loan Derby County midfielder still had plenty to do but he produced a clinical finish from the edge of the penalty area, leaving Craig Samson with no chance.

Apart from a rash of yellow cards from an over-fussy referee, there was little action of note during the opening 45 minutes, save for a fine save from Alan Mannus from Dougie Imrie.

He managed to turn the striker’s shot behind only for the official to award a goal-kick, a decision which enraged the home support almost as much as the performances of some of their own players.

In fairness, it was a rare moment of penetration from the hosts, who are the lowest-scoring side in the top tier.

Sandaza should have provided the visitors with some breathing space in the 55th minute when, looking suspiciously offside, he was nonetheless allowed to run on to Murray Davidson’s pass. However, the Spaniard, whose form has dipped since he escaped being signed by Rangers, shot weakly at Samson.

The goalkeeper had been single-handedly responsible for the home side still being in the game but he was personally culpable when the men from Perth – Scotland’s newest city – secured the points 14 minutes from time.

He had done well initially to push away a Murray Davidson piledriver but he undermined his previous good work by fumbling Liam Craig’s resulting corner at the feet of David McCracken and the defender forced the ball home from six yards for his first St Johnstone goal. It proved to be a double celebration for McCracken, whose second daughter, Erin, was born earlier in the week.

Sandaza supplied the icing on the cake with a fine finish, sending an angled drive behind the advancing Samson after being sent clear by Murray Davidson’s headed pass.

“What I found disappointing was a lot of the bad decisions we made today,” said home manager Danny Lennon. “You get punished for them at this level.”

Lennon will have his players training today in order to prepare for Wednesday’s tie. “We’ll get this out of our system and look forward to the opportunity to bounce back.

“It won’t take a lot for me to lift them because what’s at stake is the oldest cup competition in the world. That’ll take care of itself.”

MAN OF THE MATCH: Murray Davidson (St Johnstone) Pulled the strings and, on another day, would have had a hat-trick of assists.

TALKING POINT: No one in the SPL has had fewer away defeats than St Johnstone.

Referee: R Madden. Attendance: 3,768