St Johnstone end wretched run by beating Motherwell

2nd Feb 2023 | Source: BBC

St Johnstone were rarely troubled by struggling Motherwell

St Johnstone ended a run of seven defeats by beating an abject Motherwell 2-0 to heighten their hosts' Scottish Premiership relegation worries.

Drey Wright and Melker Hallberg scored either side of half-time for Callum Davidson's side, who did not have to get out of second gear and sit eighth.

Motherwell never looked like scoring, and were booed off by the few fans that remained at full-time.

Only goal difference keeps Steven Hammell's side off bottom spot.

St Johnstone boss Davidson said before kick-off that his players were bang up for this game, and that showed as they raced into an early lead.

Wright arrived in the box completely unnoticed and, after Nicky Clark fed the ball into his path, the wide man slid his first-time shot beyond Liam Kelly into the net.

The visitors continued to dominate, and might have had a penalty when Motherwell debutant Riku Danzaki looked to clip Adam Montgomery's heels in the box. However, Don Robertson waved play on and there was no intervention from the video assistant referee.

Motherwell's clearest sight of goal in the first half came when Jack Aitchison, also on his debut, brought down a long ball inside the box, but he saw his goalbound shot blocked.

Hammell's side were booed off at half-time, and he made two changes at the break in an attempt to turn things around - sending on Dean Cornelius and James Furlong - but as in the first half, St Johnstone scored early.

Hallberg played a neat one-two with Stevie May, and the Swedish midfielder was all alone in the Motherwell box to shoot under Kelly.

Stuart McKinstry and debutant Jonathan Obika were thrown on as Motherwell desperately looked for a spark, but St Johnstone never looked under any pressure, and comfortably saw out the rest of the second half for a much-needed win.

Player of the match - Nicky Clark

The St Johnstone striker - playing after his appeal against Saturday's sending off was successful - was a constant menace to a beleaguered Motherwell defence

Motherwell's deficiencies in both boxes spell serious trouble - analysis

That is now 10 league games without a win for Motherwell, who face the very real prospect of second-tier football next season for the first time since 1985.

On a day of bleak stats, the most eye-catching is that St Johnstone now have more wins at Fir Park this season than Motherwell.

A side that gives up easy goals and struggles to create tends to struggle, and that is exactly what Hammell's side did.

Both goalscorers were left in acres of space to fire past a helpless Kelly, who must look at the chaos in front of him with utter despair.

At the other end, neither Danzaki nor Obika showed any life on their debuts, and Davidson cut a very relaxed figure on the touchline from the fifth minute onwards.

What they said

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "I'm really pleased. We've been on a tough run - mentally it's a tough place to come out of. It's about remaining positive. If you play with energy and enthusiasm, you'll always have a chance.

"I believe in the group of players that I've got. I see them every day in training - I see what they're capable of. So things can only get better between now and the end of the season, hopefully."

Motherwell manager Steven Hammell: "It's not good enough. It's nowhere near good enough. We apologise to the fans.

"I've been repeatedly trying to convince people that we're very close, but that performance is probably the worst since I've been here. Individually, we're nowhere near good enough. It's something you don't want to be associated with."