St Johnstone Women made their second trip of the season to Stirling on Sunday, where a dominant team performance saw them run out comfortable 7-1 winners over Stirling University.
Saints came into the match off the back of a heavy defeat themselves at the hands of Rangers last Sunday but should anyone have had any questions about the character of the team, they were certainly answered on Sunday.
The first chance of the match came for the home side after a couple minutes. A diagonal ball was played forward out to the right, which was picked up by Tanaka Chitengu, who cut inside and curled a shot just wide of Bobby Cochran’s right-hand post. Play quickly switched to the other end, with Stirling goalkeeper clearing a back pass just in the nick of time as Jodie Malcolm closed her down.
Elvie McLean dispossessed a Stirling player on the left and drove forward, cutting inside and getting a shot away which Amy Marshall couldn’t hold, but it was cleared to safety before Saints could capitalise. Ten minutes in, Jodie Malcolm made her way down the right and played a low ball into the but Leni Parrish, striking from 12 yards out, couldn’t keep her effort from going over the bar.
Defender Rebecca McMillan then went close with her header. Perhaps losing sight of it in the sun as it dropped from height, her header went just past the post. With a third of the half played, Saints went closer still to breaking the deadlock. Elvie McLean was fouled, not for the first time in the match, twice taking knocks that required treatment. This time however it was a tug of the shirt that won a free kick. Niamh Irvine floated it over the wall, landing on the crossbar and bouncing over to safety.
The Saints pressure continued, Elvie McLean saw an effort go just wide, and, after some good hold up play, she teed up Daisy Smith who also saw a curling effort go just wide. As the half hour approached, off target chances continued to mount up with Jodie Malcolm going wide after being played into the box, and, when an Elvie McLean shot was blocked.
As the half came to a close, McLean made the most of her accrued injury time, scoring twice in the space of two minutes. Firstly, Jodie Malcolm picked up the ball in midfield and drove forward and, with good vision, slotted in McLean to her right who finished with a composed right foot strike. Then just a minute later, from a throw-in, McLean held the ball up just a yard from the byline, turned her defender, and cut back to score from an acute angle with a strike low past the keeper at her near post.
Saints kicked off the second half and once again came out strong, scoring a third goal just four minutes after the restart. Captain Hannah Clark rose highest at a corner to direct a powerful header goalwards which came back off the upright and there at the back post was fellow defender Rebecca McMillan who made no mistake from close range, a goal which was celebrated by the entire team.
Just over five minutes later, Saints had a fourth. Niamh Irvine had an effort blocked with the ball going out to the right where it was crossed back in by Elvie McLean to Jodie Malcolm who had stealthily snuck in unmarked to score from close range.
Saints kept the pressure up, Niamh Irvine notably having two efforts blocked and then one well saved. Starting in the seventy-second minute, a remarkable passage of play saw four goals scored in as many minutes.
Saints were caught in possession at the back, and Rachel Wright’s powerful strike from close range left Cochran with little time to react. From the restart Saints burst forward with Jodie Malcolm being wiped out by goalkeeper Amy Marshall at the edge of her area. Marshall was booked and then Rachel Howie stepped up and made no mistake from twelve yards. The relentless play from Saints saw substitute Lila Aitchison played in and she was able to turn a defender and struck powerfully with her left foot for her second goal of the season. A minute later, she got her brace when she ran into the box, holding off a defender and taking it around Marshall who had come to close down the forward at the edge of the area, slotting home into the empty net.
Saints last real chance of the match came from an Eirinn McCafferty free kick which wasn’t held by Marshall and very nearly dropped in over the line before she gathered at the second attempt.
Saints now return to the McDiarmid Astro next Sunday when they welcome Gartcairn with a 3pm kick off.
Saints: Cochran, MacIver, McLean (Aitchison), Clark, Malcolm (Shepherd), Howie (Taplin), Irvine, Smith (Jones), McCafferty, McMillan, Parrish (Brady).
Unused Subs: Grattan, Cruickshank
