MATCH REPORT: UNITED V ST JOHNSTONE

St Johnstone made the short trip up the A90 from Perth to face United for both sides’ third game in eight testing days. Peter Pawlett was the hero last time the teams faced off, his 60th minute strike the winner in a tightly contested affair at McDiarmid, the three points from that game pushing United into the top six and have remained there ever since.

Pawlett was one of four changes to the side that were drenched in West Lothian on Wednesday, Ilmari Niskanen, Kieran Freeman and Declan Glass all rested, Our Academy graduates Logan Chalmers, Louis Apperé and Kerr Smith as well as Jeando Fuchs making up a youthful starting XI.
 
United started slowly and struggled to make progressive passes through the St Johnstone lines. This was in part due to Chris Kane dropping onto Dylan Levitt when the defence were in possession to disrupt our build up play and force speculative long balls forward. St Johnstone’s renowned physicality and aerial prescense allowed them to win both the first and second balls, meaning United and their fans found the early stages particularly frustrating.
 
St Johnstone went close with two corners inside the opening five minutes, before United tested Zander Clark through a weak Levitt shot from distance after a fluid counter-attack involving Chalmers, Appere and Ian Harkes. Callum Davidson’s side began to take a hold of proceedings, hitting multiple crosses into the United area thanks to their wide overloads created by the underlapping runs of Callum Booth and Michael O’Halloran.
 
The Perth sides’ dominance would pay off on the 18th minute when Ali Crawford opened the scoring from 25 yards. A rare error from Fuchs in the middle of the park allowed Cammy Macpherson to pickpocket the Cameroonian, and he rolled the ball forward for his colleague. Crawford took a touch out his feet before whipping an unstoppable effort into the bottom right corner.
 
Naturally, the goal led to a shift in mentality from Saints, and United were allowed to control possession, but failed to make it count. Appere’s tenacious attitude almost got United level as he bullied O’Halloran off the ball and darted towards the St Johnstone box. A couple of step-overs and then a right-footed shot followed, but Jamie McCart’s outstretched leg prevented the Our Academy graduate from levelling the score. From the resultant corner, Edwards bulleted Levitt’s clipped delivery on target, Clark alert to palm the ball over the bar.
 
Tam Courts looked to the bench to spark United’s second half fightback and introduced Pawlett and Niskanen back into the side. This instantly made a visible difference to both the fluidity and dynamism of the match, as the hosts began to carve out multiple clear-cut opportunities through fabulous link-up play involving both substitutes.
 
Levitt and Edwards combined once more as the former picked out the latter with another set-piece, however with the same end result of a Clark save from the defender’s strong header.
 
 United continued to push, and another corner provided more chances to equalise on the hour mark. Edwards diverted a deep cross back into the middle of the six-yard box for Harkes who sidefooted his effort into a ruck of blue shirts. The rebound fell to Charlie Mulgrew and the defender thumped the ball into the raised arm of Ali Crawford, referee David Munro not interested in the penalty appeals. Almost instantly after, Smith’s ball into the area found the head of Clark, the striker glancing over the bar as he ran across the near post
 
A cross again the source, Pawlett’s net-bound header was somehow saved by Clark low to his left, before the United man crashed his follow up into the Shed.
 
United were reminded of St Johnstone’s threat soon after though, with an unorthodox piece of defending allowing Kane to create a three-on-two scenario, the number nine opting to shoot straight at Mulgrew rather than lay in his colleague sparing Edwards’ blushes.
 
Niskanen’s relentless work-rate saw him become United’s main source of danger, beating McCart on multiple occasions to fire teasing deliveries across the box, but United failed to capitalise on them, first through Fuchs then Pawlett who both only found Clark with their strikes.
 
With just over five to play, United were presented with a golden chance to claim a well-earned point. A driving run from Harkes saw him get to the by-line and pick out Clark on the six-yard line. He knocked the ball right to Pawlett for a tap-in, but the former Aberdeen man struck straight at the well-placed Clark as the keeper’s heroics continued to deny the tangerine shirts. Clark also managed to palm his namesakes headed rebound behind for a corner.
 
The stopper came to his side’s rescue one final time when Clark turned Niskanen’s cross goalward, the 29-year-old managing to spread himself to smother the opportunity and smother United’s chances of maintaining their unbeaten run, this proving to be the last kick of the match.