| 7 | St Johnstone | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 28 |
| 8 | Hibernian | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 26 |
| 9 | Motherwell | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | -9 | 18 |
| 10 | Hamilton | 17 | 4 | 1 | 12 | -25 | 13 |
| 11 | Dundee | 17 | 2 | 3 | 12 | -22 | 9 |
Tom Aldred, Danny Johnson and Mark Gillespie all played starring roles as Motherwell picked up their first win in Perth in six years.
A 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Aldred and Johnson, and helped by Gillespie’s penalty save, gave the Steelmen all three points.
Tom Aldred, Danny Johnson and Allan Campbell spoke after the 2-1 away win at St Johnstone.
Stephen Robinson said his side’s battling performance was well rewarded with victory at St Johnstone.
The Steelmen’s first victory in Perth in six years ended the Saints’ eight-game unbeaten run, with Tom Aldred and Danny Johnson on target and Mark Gillespie saving a penalty.
Motherwell produced a solid performance on the road to win 2-1 against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Goals from Tom Aldred and Danny Johnson marked the Steelmen’s first win on the Saints home turf in six years, and it was a resolute performance from start to finish for Stephen Robinson’s men.
The ‘Well boss made two changes from the narrow 1-0 defeat against Hearts last weekend, recalling Allan Campbell to the middle of the park and Christian Mbulu to the right hand side of a back three as Andy Rose and Alex Rodriguez-Gorrin dropped out of the starting eleven.
And before Tommy Wright’s side could settle in to the game in Perth, ‘Well found themselves a goal up after just two minutes.
David Turnbull’s corner was turned home by the arriving Aldred at the back post before Robinson’s side went on to dominate the opening stages of the match.
And soon enough, it was two. Turnbull was again involved, but his scuffed effort on goal was dealt a slice of luck when it fell kindly for the lurking Johnson.
Despite being faced with the lunging presence of Zander Clark, the striker kept his nerve and produced a deft finish to lift the ball high and beyond the Saints stopper to double the lead and bag his sixth league goal of the season.
Momentum swung in favour of the hosts for the latter stages of the first half, but they couldn’t produce the quality required to get the better of a solid Motherwell back line.
However, a brief lapse from Charles Dunne resulted in a penalty for a handball, and a golden opportunity was presented to the Perthshire side to halve the deficit.
Fresh off the back of his penalty saving heroics against Celtic though, Mark Gillespie stepped up and produced a terrific save to turn the ball round the post.
The second half started similarly to the first, with the Lanarkshire outfit controlling the match but unlike the first 45, they couldn’t convert.
Johnson was unfortunate to see a blatant shirt pull deny him a free header home midway through the second period, and it was equally unfortunate that referee Alan Muir didn’t point to the spot.
A late header from Jason Kerr pulled a consolation back for the hosts, but Robinson’s men showed their steel to hold on for all three points at a ground which proved hard to conquer in recent years.
Stephen Robinson says winning the “battle” against St Johnstone is part of the key to getting back to winning ways in Perth.
The Steelmen take on a Saints side unbeaten in their last eight matches, as they look to equal a club record of games without loss.
Curtis Main expects St Johnstone to prove difficult opponents for Motherwell this weekend, as the Steelmen look to end the Saints’ eight-game unbeaten run.
Tommy Wright’s side are looking to equal their club record for games undefeated in the top flight, while the ‘Well are looking to bounce back from their narrow loss at Hearts.
Motherwell travel to take on St Johnstone in the Ladbrokes Premiership on Saturday.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
The two sides have met once in the 2018/19 season. A 0-0 draw at Fir Park seemed certain, before Jason Kerr popped up two minutes into stoppage time to start a run of eight games without defeat.
Peter Hartley and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair are available. Liam Donnelly, Chris Cadden, Trevor Carson and Craig Tanner remain on the sidelines.
St Johnstone welcome back Danny Swanson and Steven Anderson from injury. Drey Wright, Conor Mitchell and Brian Easton remain out.
A pay gate will be in operation at McDiarmid Park on the day. Prices are as follows.
| Adult | £23 |
| Over 65s | £13 |
| 17-18 year olds | £12 |
| 13- 16 year olds | £9 |
Children aged 12 or under get in for free, but must be accompanied by an adult. An adult can take a maximum of two children free of charge.
A family gate will also be in operation at a reduced cost of £16, which covers one adult and a maximum of two children aged 12 or under. Spectators taking this deal should enter through gate five.
Wheelchair and ambulant tickets are priced at £14 for adults, £6 for concessions. Personal assistants go free of charge.
Fans who require ambulant or wheelchair access should contact Andy Sim on 07428 225254 or email tickets@mfcdsa.com.
Vehicular access to our car park for visiting supporters is via the new gate to the north of the stadium. Follow “Football Stadium’ signs on A9 north via Broxden/Inveralmond roundabouts and take the off slip on the southbound A9.
Parking for buses/minibuses/coaches is free of charge. All other vehicles will cost £5.
Pedestrian access is via the old gates on the A85 Crieff Road as before. Pedestrian access is not permitted via the new north gate.
After the game, Motherwell supporters’ vehicles will be directed out of the brand new south west egress gate, providing direct and easy access onto the A9 south bound.
Motherwell’s community trust are again running their ever-popular Festive Camp programme across the Christmas holidays.
Running on 27 and 28 December or 3 and 4 January, kids aged between five and 14 can get involved on the Fir Park astro.
Running from 9am until 3pm each day and priced at £15,
To book, or for more information, just click on the corresponding day you are interested in from the list.
Alternatively, you can sign your child up for Santa’s Soccer Saturday on 22 December.
For kids aged between five and 14 and priced at £10, we’ll have small-sided games, skill session and prizes between 12pm and 1.30pm, before taking in Motherwell’s game with St Mirren.
To book, or for more information, visit the Community Trust website.
Motherwell head to Perth on Saturday seeking a first win at McDiarmid Park since 2012.
Here’s the game previewed in numbers.
The number of consecutive games St Johnstone have currently gone unbeaten, a run which started with a late, late 1-o win over Motherwell in October.
Wins over St Mirren, Livingston, Hibernian, Hamilton and Aberdeen followed, as well as draws with Hearts and Kilmarnock.
From those eight games they’ve kept a remarkable seven clean sheets, conceding only to Hearts.
It’s been 10 games since Motherwell last recorded a win in Perth, which came courtesy of a 3-1 win in November 2012.
Jamie Murphy grabbed a first half double in that victory, with Nicky Law adding the third before David Robertson’s late consolation.
The Saints have won seven at home since then, with two draws. The last game at McDiarmid Park ended 0-0 towards the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
Thirteen points currently separate the two sides in the Ladbrokes Premiership table, with both having played 16 matches.
St Johnstone sit in fifth spot have won eight, drawn four and lost four so far and have an equal goal difference, having both scored and conceded 20 goals.
Motherwell are currently ninth, winning four, drawing three and losing nine so far.
A new film charting the success of the legendary 1991 Scottish Cup winning team is coming out, and you can win a pair of tickets to the premiere.
Steelmen has been produced by purpleTV for BBC ALBA and will air in early 2019. The film’s premiere will be held in Glasgow on Monday, 14 January.
We’ve got three pairs of tickets to give away for the event. All you have to do is retweet our tweet or share our Facebook post with your friends.
The VIP prize includes:
Winners will be chosen at random and informed by Friday, 28 December 2018.
