THE St Johnstone team bus would have been a happy place to be last night as Tommy Wright and his eye-catching side left Aberdeen with three points that underlined why the Perth manager won the manager of the month award and a new contract within the past few days.
Skipper Joe Shaughnessy’s opener, a bullet of a header from David Wotherspoon’s 71st minute corner, sickened the home side, weary and forlorn-looking after the exertions of midweek when they inflicted defeat on Rangers at Ibrox.
Blair Alston’s long-distance strike three minutes later was the fatal wound Saints sought as they recorded their eighth game without defeat and had the home fans heading for exits early while those who stayed made their feelings know through boos and jeers.
The win leaves Wright’s men four points clear of the Dons in the Premiership table and just two points behind Hearts in fifth place
with a game in hand over the Jambos.
“It’s been good, and we’ve broke the manager of the month curse as well,” said Wright.
“We broke that trend, if there was a trend. So, it’s a great way to finish off a very good week for me personally
and a very good week for the club.
“Away wins are always nice and this place is always difficult to come to. I think they’d won their last five at home.”
The Dons edged the first forty-five minutes and tested Perth keeper Zander Clark, who showed why he’s so highly rated in the Scottish game.
But Derek McInnes’ men were poor in front of goal with Stevie May, given a start because of the suspension of Sam Cosgrove, red-carded in the midweek win over Rangers at Ibrox, unable to test his ex-team, despite an early effort that saw his strike flash across the St Johnstone goal with Clark caught out.
At the other end, it was Joe Lewis who had to produce the acrobatics with a brilliant stop from Matty Kennedy as alarm bells rang in the Pittodrie defence.
A Lewis Ferguson strike from the edge of the area in the 63rd minute forced Clark into a superb save but from then on the visitors took control and eight minutes later Shaughnessy’s back-post header from David Wotherspoon’s corner-kick from the left bulleted into the Aberdeen net and stunned their players.
Three minutes later Alston, on for Ross Callachan just a few minutes earlier, hit the second, a breathtaking strike from 25-yards as the Dons defence opened up and offered him the chance to go for goal.
Wright said: “Blair changed the game. He’s given us fresh legs and that impetus, that bit of quality.
“He gets the corner for us for the first goal and he scores a wonder goal for the second.
“When we go to 2-0 we’re good at seeing games out and we did that. It’s pleasing because clean sheets win you matches, it’s important and that’s what I said to them today.”
Derek McInnes, the Dons manager, took the defeat on the chin and blamed tiredness following their midweek exertions at Ibrox for a poor display.
He said: "It went wrong when we lose a simplistic goal from a set piece. We spoke at half-time about trying to show more desire to get on the end of that last past.
"But I thought it was clear we lacked a wee bit of inspiration and creativity today.”
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