St Mirren 0 - 3 St Johnstone: Bundle of joy as McCracken gets off the mark for Saints

The Perth side maintained their push for a Europa League spot with a 3-0 win over St Mirren on Saturday.

McCracken joined Lee Croft and Fran Sandaza on the scoresheet as he finally got off the mark for the club he joined in the summer.

He said: “From back to front, the boys were different class again.

“It’s another clean sheet for us and that’s been vital in recent weeks. Up front, the boys are always a threat.

“We are always going to create chances and score goals and that makes life easier for us.”

Thirty-year-old McCracken scored St Johnstone’s vital second goal and capped a perfect week, which saw the birth of daughter Erin.

The strike came at a crucial moment in the game and sealed the victory for Steve Lomas’ side.

McCracken’s only regret is that he never had a chance to copy Brazil legend Bebeto’s famous baby celebration from the 1994 World Cup.

He said: “I thought about doing ‘the Bebeto’ but the boys all jumped on me and I never got the chance.

“It’s a wee bit dated now, but it would still have been nice. In the end, I did nothing.

“That goal has been a long time coming and I’m just delighted to get off the mark.

“I was surprised Craig Samson dropped the ball from the corner. I’m mates with him and I told him that was one I owe him.

“It was a good way to round the week off, coming after the birth of my daughter.

“We could have killed St Mirren off earlier but it was good to get the win.”

St Johnstone have now taken an impressive 27 points from 15 away games this season.

Level in fourth position with Dundee United, European football is a realistic aim, but McCracken wants to manage expectations.

He said: “The away form has been superb and there will be a lot of talk about European football now.

“But making sure we finish in the top six is still the aim and then we will just take it from there.

“There is a lot of football to play and we don’t want to get carried away.”

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon backed his players to bounce back and be ready for Wednesday’s William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final replay with Hearts.

He said: “The boys will be back in on Sunday morning and we will get it out of their system.

“We will sit down as a group and start preparing for Wednesday evening. It’s a huge match and I’m sure they will bounce back for that one.”