AFTER supposedly lurching towards crisis in the opening weeks of the season, St Johnstone signalled their title aspirations remain very much alive with this victory.
A deflected Gavin Swankie goal early on allowed them to relax, but their character was tested when David Nixon equalised just after the break. In the past, Saints would have folded following this setback, but manager Derek McInnes has instilled stee
l in his players of late, and a clinical double from Steven Milne was enough for full points.
Airdrie's defence has been the foundation upon which their decent form this season has been built, but after only four minutes it was breached. Chris Millar's intelligent dink into the middle of the field allowed Swankie, who was given too much space by the defenders, to step forward and lash the ball, via a deflection, past Stephen Robertson.
The better football came from the hosts but they lacked a cutting edge, despite holding much of possession, and they found themselves level again three minutes into the second half
when a ball into the box from the right-hand side was not attacked by anyone in a blue shirt, leaving Nixon the simplest header from eight yards out.
St Johnstone re-took the lead, though, with a well-worked goal from Milne after a clever flick from Derek Holmes, and wrapped up the points in the final seconds with a Milne tap-in at the back post after Millar had opened up Airdrie's defence with a superb low pass.
The full article contains 257 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
