St Mirren 2 St Johnstone 1: Alex Greive bags first Buddies goal as Callum Davidson’s men continue slump
ALEX GREIVE was picked up by St Mirren after talks with the New Zealand Tourist Board.
And he helped them visit Scotland’s top six.
The Kiwi striker’s 49th minute winner made it just one defeat in nine for the Buddies.
Pre-match boss Jim Goodwin had revealed Greive’s availability had only come to light during chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick’s talks with travel promoters for his country.
The Verdict
St Mirren: Alnwick 7, Fraser 5, Shaughnessy 8, Dunne 7, Tait 6 (Flynn 3), Power 7, Gogic 7, Kiltie 8, Ronan 7, Jones 7, Greive 7
St Johnstone: Clark 6, Sang 4 (Brown 3), McCart 5 (Butterfield 4), Cleary 6, Gordon 6, Gallacher 6 (May 1), Davidson 5 (Bair 3), MacPherson 5 (Gilmour 3), Crawford 5, Middleton 5, Hendry 6.
Referee: David Dickinson 5
It’s quickly becoming some journey too as the man from down under steered home Greg Kiltie’s cross to leave the Paisley side on top.
Goodwin reckons his men deserve more respect for their record and you had to marvel at the way they battled back from falling behind to Callum Hendry’s twice taken spotkick.
Connor Ronan levelled with a disputed penalty at the other end on the stroke of half-time to make it three goals in four games for the Irishman before Greive grabbed his clincher.
Perth boss Callum Davidson saw his side’s return to form brought to an abrupt end as defeat combined with Dundee’s win sent them sliding back to the foot of the table.
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The margin of victory was true to form. St Mirren’s 2-0 home win in October 2019 is the only time in 13 meetings either side have triumphed by more than single goal.
The last two clashes between these sides had ended in goalless draws while St Mirren had won just one of the last four visits from their Perth rivals.
But the home side started the better woth Greive and Greg Kiltie directing early efforts past the post.
Jordan Jones arced in a shot which Zander Clark clawed away then picked out Kiltie who made a mess of his header from just a few yards out and saw it sail wide.
But after such positive early signs from the home side they started to get sloppy in possession and the Perth Saints started to come back into things.
Jak Alnwick is out of contract in the summer and has so far stalled on the offer in front of him.
But he again showed his value to the team with three top saves before the break.
The first two came in the space of five minutes as he pushed away drives from Ali Crawford and the returning Cammy MacPherson.
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But Alnwick was helpless when St Johnstone took the lead from the spot in the 28th minute.
When Glenn Middleton raced into the box all Marcus Fraser had to do was stay on his feet and not do anything silly.
Instead he was suckered into a challenge that sent Middleton sprawling.
In swirling sleet Hendry sent Alnwick the wrong way and thought he’d put his side in front.
But almost immediately ref David Dickinson signalled the ball had been moving in the wind and ordered a retake.
Hendry went the same way as Alnwick guessed right but couldn’t stop the ball going past him.
For a St Johnstone side buoyed by new faces and five points from their last three games it was the perfect start.
Goalie Alnwick was back to his brilliant best again to ensure it didn’t get even better for them though when he got down well to divert another low MacPherson shot past the post.
That stop proved even more crucial as the home side levelled four minutes before the break.
Richard Tait crossed into the box where Greive was bundled over by Jamie McCart.
This time it was Ronan who was successful from the spot. The Perth Saints weren’t happy with the award though and assistant Steven MacLean landed a booking for his complaints before the break.
The Buddies emerged for the second half looking like a side determined to continue their good form.
They took the game to their rivals and were in front within four minutes. Kiltie’s ball in from the right was steered home by Greive for the New Zealander’s first goal for the club.
Davidson will have been tearing his hair out at the ease at which he was allowed to do it – then looked on as his side failed to come close to getting back into things with the home side easing their way to victory.
What They Said
CALLUM DAVIDSON blasted the spotkick call which let St Mirren back into things.
The Buddies landed a penalty on the stroke of half-time after Alex Greive hit the deck under pressure from Jamie McCart.
Connor Ronan cancelled out Callum Hendry’s spotkick before Greive netted a second half winner to send the Perth Saints back to the foot of the table.
But boss Davidson reckons ref David Dickinson was wrong.
He said: “I was disappointed with the penalty. It was a horrendous decision.
“I’ve watched it back numerous times and I’m still to see it. The ref said it was a blatant shove to push the player down.
“To me the ball was waist height, the player tried to head it and Jamie was behind him. Big decisions in games can change it especially when confidence is fragile.
“We can do better when we go a goal up, we can do better when it goes all square and when we lose the second we could have reacted better.
“I sound like a broken record - huge decisions have cost us so it’s hard to take.”
The Buddies move up to sixth and sit just a point away from fourth.
Boss Goodwin said: “It’s where we want to be. We’ve spoken about it over past seasons about putting us in the mix for the top half it’s not job done.
“There’s a hell of a lot of football to be played. We’ve got a game in hand and if we win that it’ll put us into the scary position of fourth which would be incredible at this stage.
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“But as it’s so tight and congested we can’t get carried away as you could quickly go back to ninth or tenth.
“Special mention has to go to Jordan Jones and Alex Gogic but Alex Greive was my man of the match. He led the line brilliantly. He had monsters climbing over him and he used his body well.”
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