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Elliot Watt’s second-half champion maintained St Johnstone’s hopes of Premier League survival and cheered up in free-fall Ross County.
Simo Valakari’s Saints – 9 points under the feet of the table in January – with a slight difference in goal within three of the stagnation at the bottom of the second, beating them 2-1 in a tense showdown at McDiarmid Park.
Perth’s side needs a victory to really extend hope for a 16-year extension in top flight, he advanced through Daniels Balodis but was nailed by Alex Samuel wrench before the break.
But Watt’s strike at the hour proved decisive as the county failed for the seventh straight time, putting them in danger of being surpassed by the saints in the remaining two sports.
St. Johnstone’s Elliot Watt celebrates score 2-1
The Saints lost the first four games in all games, and he made three changes to the side Kilmarnock beat 2-0 at home as Jason Holt, Adama Sidibeh and Sam Curtis were all restored.
Four changes occurred on the county side, starting a 3-1 home defeat, with guard Will Nightingale making her debut after a knee injury.
St Johnstone was a brighter team in the opening half hour, creating their first real chance in the game in the 27th minute, when Curtis stabbed the distance from six yards after Josh McPake’s cross.
In the 31st minute, the host’s breakthrough came when Balodis headed for Watt’s corner from the corner below the bar.
Shortly thereafter, the Saints stepped forward (Sidibeh) and saw the shot just deflected.
As the interval approaches, the county begins to enter the game, with Samuel and Hale both threatening by attempts at the edge of the box.
Visitors’ first obvious chance to start the game from the 41st minute, sizzling from the low cross that Samuel had handed in close range.
When Taylor Steven nodded and McPake’s cross entered the dangerous area, the Saints had some great chances to restore their lead, but Sidibeh couldn’t get a clean shot before Uche Ikpeazu’s effort to snatch the bar from close range.
When Watt bent home from 12 yards after goalkeeper Jordan Amissah shot, the home team returned forward before Barry Douglas was sent into the box.
In the 81st minute, the county thought they had balanced through Hale, just to exclude it from offside after a long check. Visitor suffering becomes more complicated by the tenth minute of Zac Ashworth’s downtime.
The manager said…
St. Johnstone owner Simo someone:
“When you get the last chance, you need delivery and the boys did it today.
“We can all see tension and there are some crafty moments where we are not doing the right thing. It’s totally understandable – my players are human.
“But I love that they keep trying to do the right thing under pressure and everything ends up being fine. We’re always fighting.”
Ross County boss Don Coy:
“I just told the group that I felt sorry for myself without meaning, because of course I wouldn’t.
“We have two big games. Even though we’ve been underperforming all the time, we still have a chance to get out of our situation.
“We make it hard for ourselves, but we still have the chance.”
