St Johnstone’s Nicky Clark scores to make it 2-1 during a William Hill Premiership match between Dundee and St Johnstone at the Scot Foam Stadium at Dens ParkSNS

Nicky Clark forced home the winner for St Johnstone in the 90th minute

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland

St Johnstone battled back to earn a Scottish Premiership victory against Dundee after a dramatic finish to Simo Valakari's first game in charge.

The Finn had to wait 25 days from being named as Craig Levein's replacement to taking to the dugout after work permit issues, but his side made sure it was worth the wait with an impressive second-half display.

Nicky Clark scrambled home the winner in the 90th minute from just a yard out, before a six-minute delay as the officials checked the goal's validity.

Unable to draw the lines to check if Clark was offside because of a scrum of bodies, referee Kevin Clancy was called to the monitor and it was decided that the onfield decision of onside would stand.

Had the goal been ruled out, St Johnstone would have been awarded a penalty for handball by Simon Murray anyway, but it was a consolation they did not need.

Despite the drama it was a deserved turnaround for the Perth side, who had hauled themselves level through Graham Carey's curling strike from the edge of the box.

They had trailed to a bizarre goal scored by Murray after just 12 minutes, which came from a simple long ball by goalkeeper Trevor Carson.

It was misjudged by centre-back Jack Sanders and, as goalkeeper Ross Sinclair came out, Murray thumped the ball over him before skipping around and awkwardly nudging the ball home from two yards.

Dundee, though, were flat for the majority of the game and by the time Carey levelled things Saints had already roused themselves to become more of a threat.

The victory means St Johnstone have won back-to-back league wins for the first time in nearly two years and gets the Valakari era off to the perfect start as they leapfrog Dundee into sixth.

Saints show promise as Valakari makes impact

Despite being denied the chance to manage his team from the sidelines, Valakari's energy and enthusiasm since arriving in Scotland has brought intrigue about whether he can breathe life into St Johnstone's season.

It did not appear to be the case in the first half, which was joyless from both sides and in particular for the Saints defence which gifted Dundee the opener.

But after the break St Johnstone's sharpness and intensity lifted instantly, and quick strikers Adama Sidibeh and Benjamin Kimpioka got into the game.

Both fashioned chances in the box before the goals eventually came, with Carey scoring a trademark goal and the wily Clark popping up with the crucial moment. Jason Holt also really impressed in midfield.

Levein was adamant before his departure he had assembled a more attacking squad than in seasons gone by in Perth.

The former boss is absolutely right about that and it will be fascinating to see how Valakari can harness it, while also working on a shaky defence.

Dundee fall flat at home

Dundee dug out a big win on the road against Motherwell last time, keeping their first clean sheet of the season.

It felt like an opportunity to build on that against a St Johnstone side they have a good record against, and on their own patch.

But, other than Murray's industriousness creating the goal, they were strangely limp in front of their own fans.

Substitutes Scott Tiffoney and Oluwaseun Adewumi injected some life, but not enough to prevent a painful defeat.

Tony Docherty's side have not won back-to-back league matches since March, and the Dundee boss will be frustrated they can't get going in the way they did in the early part of last season.

They have played well in a lot of games this season without getting a victory, but this was not one of them.

What they said

Tony Docherty discusses 2-1 defeat to St Johnstone

Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "The explanation was there was so many bodies in there they couldn't determine whether Nicky Clark was offside. I don't understand that and why that amount of time wasn't added on at the end of the game. I'm a bit confused.

"It comes down to the 89th minute and not defending a corner properly. Again we've let ourselves down there. We need to address that."

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "Our players were fantastic today, and our fans were unbelievable. Going down 1-0 first half we did not freeze. We just kept gong and the fans were backing us.

"I was very pleased to hear the things our player were talking about half-time and what we needed to do. It was just a matter of going and doing it and I'm so pleased for everyone."

Simo Valakari discusses 2-1 victory over Dundee

Related topics