HOW fitting that in Steven MacLean’s farewell appearance in a St Johnstone shirt, he said goodbye with a hat-trick, and reprised his goalscoring double act with Steven Anderson from the club's famous Scottish Cup win.
It was on a day in May at Celtic Park four years ago, that MacLean netted his most important goal in a St Johnstone shirt, the second strike against Dundee United after Anderson had headed the opener, as the Perth club lifted the cup for the first time in their history.
MacLean’s hat-trick yesterday was the second treble the 35-year-old forward, soon to be of Hearts, had scored for St Johnstone in six years but deservedly capped off what has been a tremendous time at the club.
MacLean only needed 65 minutes at Fir Park, replaced to a standing ovation and chants of ‘oh, Steven MacLean’ from the away support to make way for David McMillan.
His appreciative manager Tommy Wright remarked: “I said to him in the dugout: 'Did you go to bed last night thinking, right, I'll go out with a hat-trick?' He said: 'No, I couldn't sleep'.”
MacLean was wide awake for his opener at Fir Park, which came just after the half-hour mark following almost nothing of note in the way of chances fashioned by either team.
Ricky Foster, though, was given far too much time on the right to select where to put his cross, and when he did curl it on to the forehead of MacLean, the captain for the occasion nodded the ball into the far corner of the net.
The game went from 0-0 to 3-0 in nine minutes.
Anderson sandwiched MacLean’s strikes when he lashed a loose ball into the roof of the net after Motherwell goalkeeper Trevor Carson could only push Murray Davidson’s header back into the danger zone and the striker then netted the third in the 40th minute by steering home the impressive Matty Willock’s low cross from the left.
MacLean is suspended for next weekend’s home game against Ross County, and an avoidance of artificial pitches due to knee complaints means he will sit out Tuesday’s encounter at Hamilton.
Shortly after half-time, MacLean notched his treble with the kind of goal he has become noted for, stretching to divert David Wotherspoon’s low ball into the back of the net with the outside of his foot.
Motherwell netted a consolation with 12 minutes remaining, Ryan Bowman’s side-footed effort off the bar rebounding for fellow substitute Gael Bigirimana to head home. However, St Johnstone then added a fifth when MacLean’s replacement McMillan nodded Foster’s deep cross back across the goal and into the far corner.
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson bemoaned his side conceding five goals from “five crosses into the box, something we’ve a reputation for dealing with”, but this day was very much all about the man who netted from three of them, MacLean.
“It’s the perfect send-off for him,” said Wright.
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