St. Johnstone 3 - 2 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, March 13th, 2004, 3:00 PM at McDiarmid Park, Perth
Attendance: 2,913
Referee: K Toner
St. Johnstone Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Donnelly (13)
Paatelainen (21)
Parker (90)
Paul Ritchie (64)
Paul Ritchie (73)

Team Managers
Unknown. John Robertson

Starting Eleven
Cuthbert
Robertson
McQuilken
Vata
Weir
Maxwell
Donnelly
Reilly
Paatelainen
Parker
McLaughlin
Mark Brown
Ross Tokely
Bobby Mann
Stuart Golabek
Stuart McCaffrey
Barry Wilson
Roy McBain
Russell Duncan
Liam Keogh
Darran Thomson
Paul Ritchie

Bench
Hay
Stevenson
Fotheringham
Dods
Nelson
Michael Fraser
Grant Munro
David Proctor
Richie Hart
David Bingham

Substitutions
Hay -> Paatelainen (69)
Stevenson -> McLaughlin (82)
David Bingham for Darran Thomson (60)
David Proctor for Ross Tokely (84)

Bookings
Maxwell
Robertson
McLaughlin
Parker
Roy McBain (60)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Brown (GK) 79 apps -
Ross Tokely 272 apps20 goals
Bobby Mann 202 apps17 goals
Stuart Golabek 156 apps3 goals
Stuart McCaffrey 135 apps5 goals
Barry Wilson 180 apps53 goals
Roy McBain 156 apps9 goals
Darran Thomson 25 apps2 goals
Russell Duncan 108 apps2 goals
Liam Keogh 52 apps2 goals
Paul Ritchie 118 apps58 goals
David Proctor (sub) 11 apps -
David Bingham (sub) 32 apps13 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (25 years 12 days)
Oldest Player:Darran Thomson (2005 years 225 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 206 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:David Proctor (20 years 13 days)
Oldest Player:Darran Thomson (2005 years 225 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 263 days
Domestic Players:16 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Saints pulled level on points with Caley Thistle thanks to an injury time wonder strike from Keigan Parker. The home side dominated in the first half and scored twice. The first came in 12 minutes after a flowing move from defence to attack. Jamie McQuilken cut in from the left to set up Simon Donnelly in the middle and he side footed into the net. Mark Brown denied Keigan Parker three minutes later with his legs then made a brilliant stop from a Mixu Paatelainen header in 21 minutes – as the ball broke Paatelainen tapped in to make it 2-0. Saints continued to press and early in the second half Brian McLaughlin shot over then Brown dived to save a Donnelly header. Barry Wilson was impeded by Jim Weir in the box but no penalty was given. Caley Thistle moved up a gear when substitute David Bingham took the field on the hour mark. In 64 minutes he set up Paul Ritchie with a flick from the left - the striker turned and shot home his 17th goal of the season from eight yards. Nine minutes later Ritchie scored his 18th after a good move which started with a Ross Tokely cross from the right into the box. Bingham headed down, Barry Wilson touched it forward and Ritchie shot home as the defence hesitated. The scene was set for a great finish and Caley Thistle looked to have scored a winner in 77 minutes. Roy McBain crossed from the right, Kevin Cuthbert saved Ritchie’s header and Wilson netted from the rebound. The assistant referee called offside but this decision was contradicted later by TV evidence. Into stoppage time and Parker took a touch from Chris Hay as he stormed down the right into the box – he let fly with an unstoppable angled volley past Brown. It was a goal fit to win any match but for Caley Thistle it meant three league defeats in a row and a major setback to the league challenge. Clyde only took a point against Brechin and Falkirk lost to Queen of the South. Clyde now have a seven point lead and only Caley Thistle and St Johnstone look in a position to catch them – with vital games coming up for all clubs anything could happen.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Clyde 26 16 5 5 44 27 17 53
2. Inverness CT 26 14 4 8 51 28 23 46
3. St. Johnstone 26 13 7 6 47 30 17 46
4. Ross County 27 11 9 7 43 31 12 42
5. Falkirk 27 12 6 9 37 32 5 42
6. Queen of the South 27 12 6 9 37 35 2 42
7. St. Mirren 26 6 9 11 23 35 -12 27
8. Raith Rovers 27 7 6 14 29 45 -16 27
9. Brechin City 27 5 6 16 28 55 -27 21
10. Ayr United 27 4 8 15 28 49 -21 20