St Johnstone 1-2 Dundee: Visitors up to sixth thanks to late winner
- Published
Amadou Bakayoko's goal sent Dundee into the top half of the table
Amadou Bakayoko's late goal secured a "massive win" in the Tayside derby at St Johnstone and moved Dundee up to sixth in the Scottish Premiership.
Lyall Cameron put the visitors in front after just six minutes, lofting the ball over goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov from distance.
It took until the 60th minute for Craig Levein's side to hit back in wonderful fashion with an acrobatic overhead kick from Adama Sidibeh.
But Bakayoko snatched victory with 10 minutes to play as he slid in Luke McCowan's cross.
The win moves Tony Docherty's side a point clear of Hibernian with a game in hand as the split nears, while struggling St Johnstone stay a point above second-bottom Ross County.
"We have been criticised this season, we have been constantly working on how to win, turning draws into win, and we saw that today," manager Docherty said.
"You saw a real team performance, a real disciplined and clinical performance. I thought St Johnstone were probably the better team but we came away with the win."
It was a disappointing start for Levein's side as Mitov, who has been so good this season, got things all wrong.
He was a mile off his goalline in an effort to close down Bakayoko, who found Cameron for the midfielder to loft a precise finish into the net.
It was all Dundee for the majority of the first half but the home side began to grow into the game, with David Keltjens and Nicky Clark having decent chances.
It was a much better start to the second half for Levein's men as they piled on pressure and were rewarded when Sidibeh levelled with a wonderful overhead kick from six yards out.
But Docherty's teams hit back thanks to Bakayoko before they survived some late drama when Ryan McGowan thought he had equalised for Saints.
The defender headed the ball out of the hands of Dundee goalkeeper Jon McCracken and into the net. The goal wasn't given and a lengthy VAR check agreed, with a free-kick awarded to the visitors instead.
Player of the match - Amadou Bakayoko
Not only did the striker score the winning goal for Dundee, he also set up Lyall Cameron for the opener
Dundee fight back to bag win - analysis
Docherty said before the game that a win would send his Dundee side well on their way to achieving their main objective of the season - survival.
Not only is that well within their grasp, a top-six finish is also on the cards.
It looked like the visitors were going to have to settle for a point following Sidibeh's wonder goal but they kept pushing and eventually found a winner.
It was a sore way to lose for St Johnstone, who may feel they deserved something out of the game. After a fairly underwhelming first half for Levein's side they showed character to come back into the game and Sidibeh's goal - his first for the club - will be talked about for years to come.
There are positive signs for the Perth side in terms of attacking threat as the split nears, but still a lot of work to be done if they want to stay in the top flight.
What the managers said
Craig Levein reacts to 2-1 defeat to Dundee
St Johnstone boss Craig Levein: "We have been a wee bit inconsistent in our performances and today was one of the better ones, so to come away with nothing from the game is a wee bit of a sickener."
Dundee boss Tony Docherty: "I am delighted at the mentality of my team to go and win a game in a really difficult venue against a good side."
Tony Docherty reacts to 2-1 win over St Johnstone
What's next?
Dundee are against Motherwell at Den's Park next Saturday while St Johnstone travel to Edinburgh to take on Hibernian, both kick off at 15:00 BST.