Late win is hallmark of champions

Dec 16 2008 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

WITH fog swirling around McDiarmid, the suspicion lingered that the game might have been jeopardised. No such luck.

A fourth draw on the spin seemed a certainty with just two minutes remaining before the final whistle signalled fans could make good their escape to try star-spotting on Strictly and the X Factor.

They were in need of some light relief after enduring a grim encounter, with Saints bereft of ideas to dissect a well-drilled defensive line.

Once again, the league’s top scorers found their attack blunted by opposition with a game plan which has probably photocopied and passed around rival management.

But making off with maximum points after a bad day at the office is the hallmark of champions. And it was vital Saints avoided treading water with another one-point return on home soil.

The five-point gap on Dunfermline was maintained courtesy of another Kevin Rutkiewicz header, rounding-off an exemplary performance by the captain, boldly dispatching a venomous Liam Craig corner whipped into the six-yard box.

For once keeper Kevin Cuthbert was flustered and paid the price. The former Perth player was on course to post a clean sheet on the ground where he learned his trade. But for all his agility and bravery, Cuthbert remains vulnerable to crosses and Rutkiewicz lost his marker before muscling in ahead of his one-time colleague to power a matchwinning header into the net.

I suspect Cuthbert wouldn’t have been disappointed when news of the Perth line-up filtered into the visitors’ dressing room. No Derek Holmes meant one less distraction. Instead, Derek McInnes opted to give Collin Samuel another run.

It wasn’t until the target man’s introduction around the hour mark, with a header edging wide from a Stevie Milne cross, that the in-form Morton keeper was unduly worried, although Samuel had curled a shot over the target instead of netting from 18-yards after leaving three defenders for dead. Two good chances within three minutes but it was an exceptional flurry of action.

Fans were even denied a moment of pure seasonal pantomime when McInnes risked his footing, dignity and a dry cleaning bill going for the ball in the technical area with inappropriate footwear.

Morton’s game plan was conservative but James McAllister on the left wing was a constant nuisance to an anxious Gary Irvine. James Grady was anonymous up front, with even the jeers reserved for the former Gretna attacker quickly dissipating.

In a lifeless first-half Saints relied on Jody Morris to use every inch of his frame to rise on the line and head out an Allan Jenkins 18-yarder destined for the net after a partially cleared corner. Apart from a Samuel header edging wide, Morton, buoyed by three league wins in a row, were untroubled, with the Milne/Samuel partnership blunted.

Rutkiewicz led by example. He wasn’t lacking confidence when he took on a 68th minute free-kick but his accuracy didn’t match his sense of adventure. A wild and wayward effort was in keeping with the match.

The skipper and ever calm Stuart McCaffrey were the best of the bunch but with the match deadlocked McAllister almost found the net with a cute turn and 22-yard curler which was too close for comfort.

By that time, McInnes had pitched in Holmes, Peter MacDonald and Kevin Moon in a bid to make the breakthrough, with Samuel pushed wide right in a front three.

Even after Rutkiewicz brought the crowd to its feet with that dramatic late intervention, home fans were left squirming uneasily as Morton tried to salvage something from the debris.

In an almighty penalty box scramble, Alan Main again showed his powers

of concentration still stretch 90 minutes and beyond, bravely assisted by recalled Paul Sheerin in repelling a desperate Morton assault.

St Johnstone: Main, Irvine, Craig, Morris, Rutkiewicz, McCaffrey, Millar (Holmes 60), Hardie (Moon 80), Samuel, Milne (MacDonald 75) and Sheerin. Subs not used: Anderson and Hillcoat.

Morton: Cuthbert, McGregor, Smith, Shimmin, Greacen, Jenkins, McGuffie, Paartalu, Finlayson, Grady (Wake 68) and McAllister. Subs not used: McManus, Masterton, Russell and McWilliams.

Referee: Stevie O’Reilly.