Although there was some fortunate fortune involved, this did not end well.
St Johnstone will be in the Premiership for the 16th consecutive season. It summed up a long, arduous journey for players and supporters, with their quest to remain up lasting to the end of their own final league game – and then one played elsewhere.
Those few minutes between Colin Steven blowing his whistle at Fir Park and Chris Graham doing the same in Dingwall were a sort of sporting misery, made worse by Motherwell fans celebrating fake news.
Lucky moments but not a lucky conclusion
When titles, European places, relegations, and play-off berths are decided by razor-thin margins, every team may point to ‘if onlys’ and bad luck.
After all of the VAR injustices they had endured over the season, St Johnstone deserved a day when everything went their way – both at Fir Park and Victoria Park. That turned out to have nothing to do with referees.
It was woodworking.
A Blair Spittal shot that struck the post and rebounded into Dimitar Mitov’s hands midway through the second half was significant.
Will Nightingale, County’s center-back, also directed a header onto the post in injury time. But don’t write this off as a fortuitous Saints victory.
They deserved the victory.
And, on a day when County had complete control of their destiny but failed to beat ten men, Saints deserved to finish tenth.
Mitov gets his folklore save
Don’t even consider calling the contest’s defining moment, and survival Sunday, “lucky.”
Mitov certainly did his homework on Theo Bair’s penalty.
Even though Bair prefers one side, the Canadian international hit his shot effectively, keeping it low and close to the post.
This was an excellent penalty saving. Without a goalie of Mitov’s caliber, Saints would be facing a play-off against Raith Rovers or may have been demoted automatically.
His sustained performance earned him a save that fans will remember for the rest of their lives: an Alan Main against Dundee legend stop.
Even if he is bought this summer, Mitov will be remembered as one of St Johnstone’s best single campaign performers.
Maybe perhaps the finest. Hopefully, he’ll stick around for a little longer.
The difference makers
Nobody let the Saints down on Sunday.
A good team selection, the right tactics, strong minds, strong nerves, defending the penalty box with courage and dedication, and taking their chances.
All of the following were required to establish and maintain a lead against Motherwell for the first time in four attempts this season.
Mitov, the two centre-backs, Drey Wright, Graham Carey, Nicky Clark, and Adama Sidibeh, however, elevated their performance to the level required by the occasion.
Ryan McGowan and Liam Gordon emerged from Livingston as Levein’s strongest centre-half combination, and if this is their final game together, what a way to go out.
The double block that denied Bair and Lennon Miller was the epitome of heroic, body-on-the-line defense. Carey’s left foot contributed two assists, the first of which was spectacular.
Clark scored a goal that validated his manager’s confidence and the approach of playing the long game with his fitness.
Sidibeh scored five goals in eight games and represents what Levein hopes to achieve in the summer transfer market.
And Wright’s return arrived just in time. The single most significant strategic alteration in Levein’s team in recent weeks has been the addition of a ball carrier on the right flank.
Cuptie’s wise words
In an interview with Courier Sport, Dave Mackay denied the notion that Saints’ 2014 Scottish Cup final victory was written in the stars due to the ‘May 17’ date.
“I never bought into that stuff,” he remarked.
Nothing is predestined in football. Sunday was proof of that. St Johnstone teams have been demoted three times at Fir Park, under Alex Rennie, Paul Sturrock, and Billy Stark.
Fans with long memories were dreading another Lanarkshire dose, especially after the horror at Hamilton in 2007.
With that promotion heartbreak in mind, they waited for the final County v Aberdeen score to be announced.
Will Simon Murray be the new Dingwall James Grady? He wasn’t, nor was anyone else wearing dark blue.
Ghosts from the past were exorcised throughout what turned out to be a wonderful afternoon.
