Talking points from the Premiership

St Johnstone's ruthlessness keeps the winning streak going

Seven straight wins on the road.  St Johnstone continue to defy both short and long term expectations of them.  Pound for pound, the Premiership's top three sides appear to be comfortably better than the rest of the division, but the form of Tommy Wright's team allows them to knock on the door of the newly formed establishment.  If there was any doubt whatsoever, fourth place in the league is theirs to lose and it would take a brave punt to bet against that.

In some respects this was a classic St Johnstone display in terms of how they managed the game's circumstances, even if they have and will play much better this season.  A run of the mill start saw an early goal that was seemingly scored out of nothing, but it was an early indicator of the pattern of the match.  With Murray Davidson pressuring Martin Woods to go backwards, Woods bucked the responsibility of starting a passing move off again - with Ricky Foster and Scott Boyd in a triangle around him - and instead placed scrutiny on his namesake Gary.  The goalkeeper had to deal with a backpass which bounced and spun in slippery conditions, but even so he took at least a couple of seconds too long to clear the ball.  David Wotherspoon showed the reason why managers want players to close down the goalkeeper at any opportunity.

The fourth-minute goal allowed St Johnstone to immediately tighten up their midfield and take control of the match for the next 20 minutes or so.  Liam Craig started the match surprisingly high up the pitch, but as soon as Wotherspoon scored he slotted into central midfield beside Davidson, with Chris Millar sweeping up behind them in a 4-5-1/4-3-3 shape.  Davidson and Craig made it difficult for Martin Woods and Jackson Irvine to find any space to make or receive passes, with Ross County's centre-backs having a lot of touches on the ball while St Johnstone sat back.  While County's centre-backs moved the ball from side to side quickly, there was not much space to pass into and not much more game intelligence to drag St Johnstone out of shape.  Andrew Davies is among the better players in the division in passing from the back, but as he strode forward Jackson Irvine or Martin Woods would drop short to look for the ball and somehow make both players' roles redundant. When passes were made into territory further upfield, they were typically to Liam Boyce to try to turn and open angles for others, but in doing so County encroached into Millar's territory and he did an excellent job of reading the play ahead of him and snuffing out attacks.  Most of the movement from County's front six came by Tony Dingwall cutting in from the left into hidden pockets, when the team actually needed some width and an ability to beat a man 1v1 on the flanks.  Jim McIntyre's 4-4-2 system has been successful and largely based on width and deliveries into the box, but it has strangely lacked both in the recent run of poor form - without a left-footed player on the left flank nor a winger on the pitch at all, it wasn't a surprise to see County caged in for most of the first half.

Yet they persevered and made a very presentable chance before Wotherspoon scored his second.  County found just enough of a chink in St Johnstone's armour and Foster's inswinging cross to Stewart Murdoch at the far post, marked by Wotherspoon, should have resulted in an equaliser.  It didn't and St Johnstone showed how efficient they continue to be when Wotherspoon got 1v1 against Murdoch.  Wotherspoon did all the right things and shaped his shot well, even if it was slightly too close for the goalkeeper to save more often than not.  Gary Woods was probably still rattled by his earlier mistake and let the shot sail through his outstretched hands - Woods was at fault at all three goals, but until this match had enjoyed a faultless if brief Ross County career in Scott Fox's absence.  On the flipside, Wotherspoon had a very good game in the way he shielded the ball on the left flank and tried to bring others into play, as well as in the manner in which he tracked Marcus Fraser and Murdoch toward his own goal.  With Scott Boyd and Foster performing man-marking jobs on Steven MacLean and Michael O'Halloran to a high standard, Wotherspoon was St Johnstone's key attacking player and delivered.

Two goals down at half-time and facing one of the most clinical counter-attacking teams in the division, County needed to do something quite different to get back into the match.  It didn't happen in the first 15 minutes after the break, as McIntyre insisted on sticking with the starting line-up and with St Johnstone's Millar still being tactically the most important player on the pitch, as the spare man in midfield.  After an hour, Alex Schalk was brought on in place of Dingwall and County moved to a diamond midfield, with the Dutchman playing just behind the other forwards.  It was a surprise in as much as one might expect Schalk's small size and burst of speed to be used as the forward highest up the pitch, to play off the shoulder of the last defender, but he showed some smart touches to bring others into play and his pace gave Millar some positional problems.  Schalk's introduction stretched the game, as did Jon Franks's cameo. St Johnstone didn't react well to the change of tactical circumstances and as County brought the score to 2-2, it looked like there was only going to be one winner.

However, you can only keep O'Halloran quiet for so long.  With the playing area opening up and County's full-backs pushing forward to provide width to the diamond shape, it gave the St Johnstone winger just enough of a window in the match to play a crucial role in winning the match.  A knock-down by MacLean allowed O'Halloran to get goal-side of the County defence for the first time in the match, with Davies feeling compelled to bring him down outside the box.  Dave Mackay curled a cunning free-kick around the outside of the poorly-organised wall in a manner eerily similar to one scored against County two seasons ago.  While County haven't scored from a direct free-kick in a run of 71 competitive matches, St Johnstone showed the difference between aiming for the top six and being good enough to stay there. JAM

Are Aberdeen back to their best?

This was more like the Aberdeen of the start of the season.  With a trip down the A90 to play a Dundee team that have been hard to beat in the last couple of months, and caused them all sorts of problems last season, the Dons were all over the Dees in an opening half an hour that saw them storm into an early lead that they never relinquished.  

Given the stormy weather the game was played in, it was the Hayes-Rooney-McGinn trident that sank the Dundee.  From a flurry of early pressure, a Jonny Hayes ball in was backheeled by Ash Taylor into the path of Niall McGinn, who lashed home to opening the scoring.  Shortly after, Adam Rooney was involved in the build-up play for a goal that he would ultimately be on the end of - laying back a loose ball in the penalty area, McGinn swept the ball from left to right via Willo Flood (another apt name in these playing conditions...) to Hurricane Hayes, whose ball found Rooney unmarked at the back post to make it 2-0.

Niall McGinn was once again supreme for the Dons, even in a match where he only managed to play the first 45 minutes.  In the last three matches, he has contributed to all six of Aberdeen's goals - scoring two, assisting two and directly involved in the build-up for the other two.  When McGinn and Hayes both play well they look a great side, and when Rooney is providing the finishing they more often than not bag three points. 

It was a great win for Aberdeen on a day with so many other matches postponed - they are now firmly ensconced in second place, as many points ahead of Hearts in third as they are now behind Celtic at the top.  As for Dundee, a run of seven games without a win sees them stuck in seventh place - worse still, they are now within range of both Thistles should they win their games in hand. Mid-table mediocrity is no disaster, but Paul Hartley and his charges surely have higher aspirations than that. MI

Dundee United haven't turned the corner yet

Dundee United have conceded some poor goals...well, actually a lot of poor goals...this season so far, but the one they let in after only a few minutes at Rugby Park was particularly dreadful.  It was a cracking ball in by Josh Magennis, but Kris Boyd has rarely had an easier finish than when he ghosted into a bus-sized gap between Sean Dillon and Gavin Gunning to tap-in.  This was the third straight game that Mixu Paatelainen has sent out his team with three centre-backs (despite BBC pundit Allan Preston claiming it was the first time) and they still don't look in the slightest bit comfortable with it.  

In contrast, Killie switched to a 4-5-1 with Magennis going wide and Boyd recalled through the centre, and looked like they'd been using it all season.  Maybe that's just because Gunning was playing against them; only a wonderful save from Michal Szromnik prevented Tope Obadeyi from taking advantage of a horrendous fresh-air kick from the defender at a long throw-in.  If I was to do something like that at seven-a-sides tonight, I'd get slaughtered.

If Killie had taken their plethora of early chances, United would have been pumped and Mixu would be feeling plenty nervous.  But they didn't, and the red card for Stuart Findlay and resultant penalty brought them back into the game.  They failed to make the extra man count, though.  If it can be argued that Billy Mckay and Blair Spittal wasted glorious chances (and Spittal might have had a penalty too), it should also be pointed out that at the other end Boyd missed a sitter and Craig Slater hit the post.

At least the Terrors are creating goalscoring opportunities.  But they still haven't clicked under Mixu - that's just 4 points out of 21 since he took over (along with a League Cup thumping at Hibs), and if the season had started when he arrived United would still be bottom.  The next three opponents are Partick, Inverness and Motherwell - by the end of that run they have to be closer to the sides above them if they are to save themselves. LS

Worst starts in the top flight since 3pts for a win was introduced
	P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
Motherwell 2002-03	17	2	3	12	17	35	9
St. Johnstone 2001-02	17	2	3	12	12	31	9	Relegated
Ross County 2014-15	17	2	3	12	17	37	9
Dundee United 2015-16	17	2	3	12	13	33	9
Gretna 2007-08	17	2	3	12	15	39	9	Relegated
Aberdeen 1998-99	17	2	3	12	17	54	9
St. Mirren 2014-15	17	2	2	13	11	31	8	Relegated
Dunfermline 2005-06	17	2	2	13	10	31	8
Livingston 2005-06	17	1	5	11	9	35	8	Relegated
Partick Thistle 2003-04	17	1	3	13	13	34	6	Relegated
Dundee United 2000-01	17	1	2	14	11	35	5

Martin Ingram (MI) is our Aberdeen Correspondent.  Legend has it that he is the tallest man in the Red Army.  He writes regularly for Aberdeen fanzine The Red Final.

John A Maxwell (JAM) is co-editor of Tell Him He's Pele, the acclaimed website focused on Scottish lower league football.  He is an authority on all things Ross County.  Legend has it that the 'A' stands for 'awesome'.

Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.