Temple Of Saints - Start of the Great Escape

Scottish Premier League - 26/12/2001

Well 1 Saints 2 League Table Here

Team: Miller, Murray, Flash, Dasovic, Dods, McCluskey, Tommy, JR, Peaso, Paddy, Kane
Subs Cuthbert, Russell, Rachid, Fotheringham, Falconer

Well despite the prophets of doom in the media it's nice to see that whilst she's not been totally shut up Saints have at least managed to put a gag on any attempts by that fat burd in the corner to start some karaoke. with the boys putting in as good a performance as any in recent weeks (especially from some of those whose performances have been criticised by the support) despite putting the large, noisy away support through a final 10 minutes which bordered on the panicky.

Starkers made 3 changes from the side that drew with Hibs with Nick returning for his 150th appearance for Saints in place of Fotheringham and the Russell / Rachid show replaced by the Peaso and Paddy pairing. Apart from that it was the usual suspects on display. And let's hear it for Rowbotham who in about the only sensible decision of the day passed the Fir Park surface as fit to play, despite the pitch looking as though it had never heard of undersoil heating. In a similar vein a round of applause for Well for allowing the Saints fans to cram into a decrepit main stand where for 17 quid most couldn't see the entire pitch and those that could missed most of the game thanks to the wonderfully efficient catering system.

On the park Saints started much the livelier side and in the 2nd minute Peaso broke down the right and sent a deep cross over. Tommy headed it back across goal and Paddy was unfortunate to miss the ball in the 6 yard box. And then a couple of minutes later Tommy had a good run down the left wing but elected to cross the ball instead of taking it in himself. Tommy did have a chance just after that - Paddy won a loose ball and sent it to him but his narrow-angled shot went across the goal.

At the other end Well were restricted to a weak Leitch shot which went over. We were playing well enough at this point and didn't have long to wait to take the lead. In the 10th minute, a good ball down the right saw Grant Murray break forward and take it off the Well defender before hitting a low drive past Woods left-hand side and into the net to make it 1-0. A couple of minutes later Paddy was sent through but his cross was just too far for Peaso. Then Tommy managed to win a corner and Woods only just beat Nick to tip the ball away.

Unfortunately we eased up at this point and seemed to sit back too far and let Well back into the game. Too often Paddy and Peaso were doing their own fetching and carrying and whilst the defence (with Dods and McCluskey looking great) were solid enough we weren't creating enough from defence and instead settling for the long ball. Which with Ready attempting strangulation on Peaso every time (this is of course allowed under the "Rowbotham" variation of the laws of the game) meant we were under steady pressure.

For all that though Well only managed a few corners and Miller in a change from the weekend was dealing with these comfortably although he left the kicking to Murray and McCluskey. We had a couple of chances though with Paddy just too slow to get onto the end of a good ball and then on the half-hour Dasovic picked up a poor clearance and sent a low first-time 30-yard drive which Woods only just held. A minute later and Peaso sent Paddy through on the right but again he lost the ball when he tried to go past Strong.

Elliot came close for Well with a header which went just over but in the 38th minute Paddy sent a lovely ball left to Peaso. He took his time and rounded the defender before sending a low left-footed drive into the net to kick off the "Are you Killie in Disguise" chants from the Saints fans. Well pushed back and Miller made a great save from a long-range shot whilst Peaso was getting stuck into the tackles (and picking up a booking in the process) as the game began to get nasty.

Second-half started well for us. Within a couple of minutes we were nearly 3 up. A Tommy throw-in on the edge of the box was flicked on by Paddy into the 6-yard box where Peaso saw his header go just over the bar. At the other end some slack defending let Well through on goal but Miller came out to snatch the ball from the attackers feet. He made another good save from an Elliot shot as the game got a bit scrappier with Rowbotham unwilling to give any Saints players even the slightest bit of protection as Peaso and Paddy were punched, throttled and kicked all over the park.

It eventually boiled over 10 minutes into the half. Dasovic and Kane combined well to send Peaso through but his shot was blocked. Hartley's corner saw Nick bring a good save out as Woods tipped his header over the bar. Then when the 2nd corner was cleared, Strong and Forsyth clashed on the edge of the box. Nothing too nasty compared with what had been going on before but Rowbotham gave Forsyth a red card. And even then it was only thanks to the intervention of the stand side linesman that he ended up calling Strong over and giving him a similar punishment to leave both sides down to 10 men.

Tommy switched to left back and Peaso to left midfield as we left Paddy up front on his own. But the next effort was a good long-range shot from Hartley which went just wide as the game turned into a real blood and guts affair. A minute later Paddy sent a great ball to Hartley coming in from the right only for his shot to be well blocked. Well had a couple of chances and with 20 minutes left Miller made a cracking save from an Elliot volley. Five minutes later he made another good save on the line (helped by Tommy's face as he blocked the shot). Starkers took Peaso off and put Falconer on to strengthen the defence.

We were holding up well though and should have finished them off with 7 minutes left in the best move of the game. Tommy won the ball from a Well winger back at his own corner flag. He went sprinting up the wing, dodging a couple of tackles and continuing his run instead of passing to the offside Paddy. At the edge of the Well box he sent a great ball over to Hartley who was totally unmarked only for the current on-form player to let himself down and let Woods save what should have been a simple shot.

Rachid came on for Paddy after this as Well went for broke. They had a couple of chances but didn't cause any real danger until the first minute of injury time when McFadden sent a good 20-yard drive in past the stationary Miller (although it looked to me like it took a deflection off Kane). Cue for the usual panicky couple of minutes injury time before Rowbotham blew for time up and sent us all home happy.

MoM for me was hard to pick. Dasovic, Peaso, Dods, Murray and McCluskey all had good games but Tommy for me showed the spirit and fight in the side and made a good job of closing down the Well attack. But to be honest it was a good solid team performance today and we didn't really have any weak links. As for Well - crap team, crap ground and very crap mascots.

Nice Xmas present though Saints.

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