St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari was delighted to see some light at the end of the tunnel for his players after a 1-0 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup triumph over Motherwell ended a long wait for a win.
Makenzie Kirk’s close-range finish in the ninth minute ended a nine-game run without victory for Saints, who have slid nine points behind at the foot of the William Hill Premiership.
Valakari’s side dominated the first half and prevented Motherwell threatening goalkeeper Andy Fisher at any point in the second period despite having to sit deep for much of the time.
Valakari said: “The performance was good. First half we played a solid game with the ball and the second half we defended what we needed to. That was very solid too.
“It was a big result for the players, the club and the fans, for everyone, because it has not been easy.
“Football is about emotions and it’s my job to give these emotions to the fans. There have not been enough of these moments.
“I’m very, very happy for the players because I know exactly how much they have been going through and how much s*** they have been getting from everywhere and hurting their pride.”
Motherwell’s only effort on target was a shot from Tawanda Maswanhise that trundled into the hands of Fisher midway through the first half.
Manager Stuart Kettlewell said: “We were miles from where we need to be, especially in the first half.
“Our reactions were horrendous to every situation, whether it be in possession or out of possession. I know I work with an honest group of players but at times those reactions can make your body language look poor. And we didn’t carry any threat whatsoever.
“The players reacted in the second half, still not with enough quality. We had the running of the game, we had possession and territorial advantage but we didn’t do anywhere near enough with it to carve out opportunities and start to grow in belief
“You need to show more, in terms of how you start a game and when you are in the thick of the battle and you are up against it. It simply wasn’t good enough.”
A number of the 2,000 travelling fans had similar feelings which they expressed in more vitriolic fashion towards Kettlewell and his players.
“I can’t control that,” the Motherwell manager said. “The only way you can control it is by winning the game and getting into the next round.
“At times, we have had a negative reaction when we won games. I think back to Aberdeen a few weeks ago and we still got a negative reaction to scenarios in the game when we found ourselves 2-0 up.
“That’s Scottish football. That’s football in general.”
