After the game Craig Brown was quick to admit that it “would have been a different game” had St Johnstone taken their early chance. The Motherwell fans behind Randolph’s goal had hardly settled in their seats before they witnessed chaos in the six yard box.
It seemed certain that we would lose a goal when we failed to deal with the panic that unfolded close to our goal line. In the scramble and following some desperate defensive blocks, both Davidson and Taylor had attempts saved by the keeper and the crisis passed. Blackman’s sweet shot moments later knocked the Saints for six and we never looked back. Our new striker ‘took a swing at it” with his weaker right foot and the St Johnstone ‘keeper, Smith, would have heard it crash against the net.
The win, our second on the road, opens a five point gap on our hosts and the league table is now taking on a familiar shape. We find ourselves sharing third place with Aberdeen and Kilmarnock but that will surely change next week. Our look at the Rugby Park outfit a few weeks ago suggested that they will struggle this season and we can expect them to return to the bottom half shortly.
The away stand at kick off
Our clash with Aberdeen when they visit Fir Park next week will give us the chance to secure third place and give the team the early season boost that would provide a solid platform for the rest of the campaign.
We had a glimpse of Alan Gow in the last two minutes when the manager elected to give the fans a chance to applaud Nick Blackman. We’ll see more of him next week.