SPFL Review: Great Escape still looks beyond Saints... yet the future feels brighter under Simo Valakari
SPFL Review: Great Escape still looks beyond Saints... yet the future feels brighter under Simo Valakari
Share:
St Johnstone owner Adam Webb was back at McDiarmid Park on Saturday for the first time since announcing in September that he had been diagnosed with cancer. The Atlanta-based lawyer, who assumed ownership of the Perth club in the summer, has had a rough time of it these last few months, taking a back seat from football matters in order to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
![[Substitute Taylor Steven equalises for St Johnstone with four minutes left at McDiarmid Park]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/26/19/94537237-14327487-Substitute_Taylor_Steven_equalises_for_St_Johnstone_with_four_mi-a-40_1737920733299.jpg)
His health and his family were the priority, of course, but it can’t have helped to watch from afar as his newly-acquired team, with a manager he had just appointed, were cut adrift at the foot of the Premiership. Webb has been missed all right. That’s why they welcomed him back with a message on the stadium scoreboard. And supporters applauded as he took his seat in the main stand.
![[Bozo Mikulic turns the match on its head by hooking in a late, late winner for the home side]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/26/19/94537243-0-image-a-326_1737919966201.jpg)
Better still, the team produced their first league victory since November. Two goals in the last four minutes — by Bozo Mikulic and Taylor Steven — dramatically turned the game on its head after Motherwell had led through Andy Halliday’s early penalty.
It was quite a show of character by Simo Valakari’s side, who could easily have been demoralised by the prospect of taking another step closer to relegation. Instead, they moved to within seven points of second-bottom Kilmarnock and kept alive their hopes of a great escape.
Simo Valakari celebrates after two late goals gave St Johnstone a dramatic win over Motherwell. Substitute Taylor Steven equalises for St Johnstone with four minutes left at McDiarmid Park. In truth, those hopes are slim. The bottom half of the Premiership is more competitive than ever, which means an unusually high number of points will be required to finish even in the play-off spot.
.jpg?trim=85,0,86,0&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1000)
-Cropped.png?width=1200&auto=webp)
