TWO teams with eyes on the Premiership’s top six appear to be going in very different directions. While Livingston ended the day back inside it, St Johnstone were left glancing nervously over their shoulders, a relegation tussle once again threatening to consume their entire season.
How different the complexion could be had Callum Davidson’s men held on against Celtic last week, or taken any number of fine openings inside five frantic first-half minutes today. But they didn’t, and the fact is they ended the day just two points off bottom spot, and had long been devoid of ideas by the time Dylan Moyo Bahamboula had scored the game’s only goal
“We worked on Dylan coming in on his right foot and it worked,” said Livingston manager David Martindale. “He has so much ability and I have a lot of time for him.”
Martindale wouldn’t exactly have needed to call on the services of Hercule Poirot to discover the cause of his side’s stuttering form. For all their good play, the Lions lack bite, having scored the second fewest goals in the league ahead of the Saints’ visit. Even Joel Nouble’s ‘red hot’ scoring streak (it’s all relative) had come to a halt in mid-August, peaking at just two.
Despite this, Nouble, Kurtis Guthrie and Dylan Moyo Bahamboula once again reduced Bruce Anderson - the scorer of around a quarter of all of Livi’s goals since the start of last season - to warming the bench. Over the piece, you’d have to say they justified Martindale’s faith. As did Stephen Kelly, who, in his first start, pulled the strings in Stephane Omeonga's absence.
With only 11 goals, St Johnstone could hardly be accused of setting the heather on fire themselves, and, like Livingston, were still reeling from a harsh loss last week. But they seemed to take that personally. Having impressed from the bench, Stevie May and Theo Bair led Callum Davidson’s line from the off, and barely 30 seconds were on the clock when the former ghosted in behind, only to screw an effort wide of Shamal George’s goal.
Aside from a Bahamboula effort (correctly) ruled out for offside, the early St Johnstone advance continued to gather apace, their attacking play uncharacteristically fluid. This was as much to do with the front two - best described as a ‘handful’ - as it was Jamie Murphy’s clever movement.
Livi’s sloppiness hardly helped their cause, and Nicky Devlin was the most relieved man in West Lothian when his panicky, scooped header put May in. George rushed off his line to deny him. With the Lions still looking shell shocked by what was happening before their eyes, James Brown cut inside to arrow a wonderful strike towards goal. On this occasion, George’s crossbar maintained parity.
Free flowing football from St Johnstone? It surely couldn’t last - and it didn’t. That frantic pace with which they’d started the game did eventually slow, the match falling into a familiar pattern.
Livi had some of the ball, then St Johnstone took their turn. Nouble - as is so often his wont - toyed with his marker but lacked just that little bit of end product, albeit Bahamboula should have done more with a fine cross than head straight into Remi Matthew’s hands. Murphy remained the most likely in grape to exert a touch of class on the game. Stephane Omeonga’s absence was keenly felt.
Then, out of almost nothing, Livi took an undeserved lead. It was a goal created by Nouble’s persistence, the winger keeping an attack alive on more than one occasion before he found Bahamboula. His shot was tame, but rather kindly beyond Matthews by the despairing Andy Considine.
By half time, the tide had certainly turned in Livi’s favour. St Johnstone, so energetic in that opening salvo, looked bereft of ideas, other than lumping it in the general direction of May or Bair and hoping for a favourable headwind.
If the Saints’ had started the first half like a toddler fresh from discovering where the sugar is kept, they spent most of the second looking like it was time for a long-overdue nap. Gone was the attacking vigour of those early stages, instead it was Livi who showed real ambition to find the game’s second.
They very nearly did when Kelly picked up a poor Considine pass and showed peace of mind to wait for the cavalry, eventually slipping the ball into Jason Holt’s path. Matthews’ foot came to the Saints’ rescue.
The comeback never really looked on for St Johnstone, but Connor McLennan really should have sealed it, but he instead missed the ball with just George to beat. That about summed it up.
“The first goal is always crucial against Livingston and they get it with a deflection,” Davidson said. “We had a missed couple of good chances before that.”
