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Bells League Division One 26/10/2002

Reports from BBC Sports and The Sunday Mail

Caley Thistle 2 Saints 1League Table Here

Team: : Main, Robertson, McCulloch, McCluskey, Dodds, Maxwell, Murray, Reilly, Hartley, Stevenson, Parker
Subs : Connolly, Hay, McCann, Ferry, Cuthbert.

BBC Sports

Inverness Caledonian Thistle maintained second place in the First Division table with a well-deserved 2-1 home victory over St Johnstone.

Saints made a bright start and Thistle goalkeeper Mark Brown produced a superb save from Mark Reilly in the third minute. The Jags were quick to react and Alan Main threw himself full length to turn away a 20-yard piledriver from Roy McBain. Dennis Wyness broke the deadlock when a corner from Barry Robson got the visitors' defence in a tangle on the stroke of half-time.

Ryan Stevenson came close with a header just after the break before Richard Hart extended the lead when he got on the end of a defence-splitting pass from Robson after 61 minutes. Chris Hay reduced the leeway with a penalty after being tripped by Ross Tokely three minutes from the end, but it was too little too late.

The Sunday Mail

Shot-shy St Johnstone fell behind in the promotion race as confident Caley plunged their dream of a quick Premier League return into jeopardy. The Highlanders, fresh from their battling display against Celtic, were seldom troubled as fine goals from Dennis Wyness and Ritchie Hart gave them a four- point lead on their Perth rivals. But super Caley had to endure a brief scare in the dying minutes as a Chris Hay penalty and some late pressure threatened a recovery that had been unthinkable earlier in the game.

That would have been grossly unfair on a home side who continue to defy all expectations as they mount a serious title challenge having cut the gap to four points on championship favourites Falkirk. Worryingly for Billy Stark his men rarely looked like seriously troubling home keeper Mark Brown before the fruitless last- gasp onslaught. Most strikingly, while the visitors' frontmen worked hard - with Paul Hartley a stand-out in their camp - the service from the midfield players was all too often insufficient. Caley Thistle came into this game still stinging from a 1-0 defeat at McDiarmid Park early in the season. That was a game they felt they deserved to win after dominating from start to finish. Seeking revenge yesterday against the division's most miserly defence, they named the same team who were heroic cup losers at Celtic Park.

St Johnstone had conceded only three goals in 10 league outings but goals have been proving just as hard to come by for their own strikers. They were facing a team who had only lost seven goals to date in a game that looked set to be a battle of defensive tactics. Saints didn't look so shot-shy in the early stages, however, with a neat passing move that ended with a curling 20-yard attempt from Mark Reilly troubling Caley Thistle keeper Brown. Fears that Wednesday night's CIS Cup tussle had sapped the home team's energy reserves seemed unfounded after a slick attacking move in nine minutes. Roy McBain cut inside his man from the left 25 yards out and after an action-replay of Reilly's attempt Saints keeper Alan Main fumbled the shot at his post.

St Johnstone are nothing if not a well-drilled defensive unit under Stark and neither side was able to create much of note in a tight first-half tactical contest. Keigan Parker showed flashes of skill on the right flank without troubling the home defence. Caley Thistle, meanwhile, resorted to long-range attempts with Barry Robson's distant crack at goal in 39 minutes flying high and wide.

Just when it seemed certain the half would remain scoreless, Caley Thistle went ahead seconds before the break. Grant Munro rose at the far post to head a Barry Robson corner down and amid a frantic scramble poacher extraordinaire Wyness swivelled to force the ball over the line from close range. That was the last action of the first half and Stark, perhaps worried at his team's lack of penetration in attack, brought on ex- Celtic striker Hay for Reilly at half-time.

There were better signs after the break for St Johnstone but they squandered a golden opportunity to grab the equaliser in the 52nd minute. Unmarked Ryan Stevenson, who seemed startled by the lack of a challenge, somehow lifted a header just over the bar from four yards out after Hartley's precise corner. Caley retaliated with a cheeky bit of skilful footwork by Wyness setting the striker up for a curling 20-yard attempt that struck the crossbar. Sustained home pressure also saw McBain's shot blocked at point-blank range by keeper Main and Wyness clip a shot just beyond the far post.

Saints were in real trouble just after the hour mark when the pressure paid off and Hart claimed Caley Thistle's second. Robson surged forward through midfield and slipped a perfect angled pass into Hart's path. The former Brora Rangers midfielder still had work to do but his effort took the breath away as he lashed a ferocious 15-yard drive into the roof of the net. Saints kept battling but were strangely lacking in inspiration in the final third of the field.

Their opponents made a couple of changes with victory seemingly assured but the substitutions perhaps created a little instability in what was an otherwise solid unit. Hart, again man of the match, received a rapturous applause as he left the field to be replaced by veteran Charlie Christie. But Saints caused a flutter of nerves in the home dug-out with three minutes remaining when Ross Tokely clumsily tripped Hay in the box for the sub to stick away the spot-kick himself. Saints pressed again after the restart but the Inverness side held on and narrowed the gap on Ian McCall's league leaders.

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