St Johnstone

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Josh Fowler believes St Johnstone showed character and quality after the striker grabbed a late equaliser against Dundee at Dens Park.

The 24-year-old came off the bench late in the second half and smashed home a 90th-minute leveller two minutes after the home side had gone in front.

"To concede so late after how we have played, it was an absolute sucker punch," he said.

"It is really hard to say 'can you go again and now can we try and get an equaliser instead of trying to get a winner?'

"But it just shows the character we have got in the team so we backed ourselves and we knew we could still get something from the game."

The draw means St Johnstone continue their encouraging start on their return to the top flight, having taken four points from their opening four games.

"I think everyone in our club knows the quality we have got and what we can do when we are at it and now we are hopefully starting to show people that," Fowler added.

"Four points, it's not the worst start, it is a very decent start, and we have got a lot of momentum to build on and there are a lot of positives to take.

"Every game we have been really competitive and it has been really close so we dust ourselves down and we get ready for Sunday [at home to Hibernian]."

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari said: "We played very well. To come here and control the game the way we did, it was very, very good.

"It would have been a pity, sad even, if we didn't even get a point from this match. But that's football: you can't feel sorry for yourself. Our players, they knew that and even though we conceded very late on, we kept pushing and pushing and we got our goal. One point, we accept that. We played well.

"We just need to keep going. Our players, how they performed today, I've very, very happy with that.

"Every season it's a little bit of a new team but most of the boys, we've been together a year now. I know their character, I know their personalities. They never, ever give up. I never, ever doubt that. Sometimes we won't play as well as we want, sometimes we won't take our chances but it's never that we don't believe we can get something. The belief and desire is always there. That's why I'm so happy for the players and the fans have something to celebrate. That's football.

"When you can't win, make sure you don't lose the match. Now we need to push on."

A late St Johnstone equaliser frustrated hosts Dundee who had to make do with a Scottish Premiership point to extend their impressive recent run in the meeting between the sides.

Read the match report.

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Former Kilmarnock defender Joe Wright could make his Dundee debut against St Johnstone on Wednesday after joining from Bradford City.

But strikers Ashley Hay and Simon Murray remain out through injury.

Saints are waiting to learn if Danny Schmidt, the midfielder signed from Fortuna Dusseldorf, will be granted a work permit in time to make his debut.

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Simo Valakari is relishing the intensity of St Johnstone's first Tayside derby since the Perth club returned to the Scottish Premiership.

Newly promoted Saints make the short journey to Dens Park to face Dundee on Wednesday after winning one of their opening three top-flight matches so far.

"This is where we want to be, to show ourselves and to be there together with our fans and go and play football against our rival, go and play against a team who has started the season very well," head coach Valakari said.

"It's exactly the game we want to take part in. Not just take part, but showing ourselves, showing truly what we are.

"It's a pressure environment, so you need to be tough in your head, you need to be tough physically, you need to be tactically spot-on, but this is exactly the type of game we want to take part in."

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• When the two sides last met in Premiership action, Dundee emerged victorious 2-0 at McDiarmid Park in May 2025. Lyall Cameron scored both goals.

• Dundee are unbeaten in the past three Premiership matches between the two clubs. A win for St Johnstone would be their first against Dundee in the league since October 2024. During that period, Dundee have outscored the Saints with six goals for and two against.

• Hosts Dundee have one win and one loss this season in their two previous Premiership contests on home soil. St Johnstone were defeated in both of their previous league contests on their travels this season. Saints haven't won in a Premiership away game since February 2025 against St Mirren.

Sam Miller
Fan writer

It is officially 'buckle-up' time at Saints. We have arrived at the kind of massive week in the season that requires a strong stomach, a double-shot espresso, and perhaps a small pre-match prayer to the football gods.

Every fan knows that distinct blend of early season anxiety and eternal optimism, but this stretch of fixtures before another week off feels particularly massive for setting the tone of our campaign.

​Let's be honest: watching Saints in recent weeks has been a bit like watching someone attempt a tightrope walk in oversized clown shoes.

The effort is absolutely there, but the self-inflicted wounds are enough to make you pull your hair out. Giving away soft goals and serving up defensive gifts on a silver platter has to stop immediately.

We need to cut out the silly, head-scratching mistakes at the back. When you're in a dogfight, you simply cannot afford to play Santa Claus to opposition strikers every weekend.

​At the other end of the pitch, the prescription is just as simple: take your chances!

We played exceptionally well in that second half at Tyncastle to get something out the game.

Striking while the iron is hot isn't just a cliche; it's the difference between a comfortable Saturday evening celebrating three points and a quiet, moody drink in the pub analysing what went wrong.

We need to get clinical, show a killer instinct in the box, and make the opposition pay when we're on top.

​Despite the nail-biting moments and the inevitable head-in-hands routine, here is my firm stance: I still think we are going to be completely fine this year.

​Call it blind faith, call it loyalty - but Saints have always had a knack for pulling together right when the pressure dials up to 11.

There is enough quality in this squad to climb the table once things click, and we've survived far worse scrapes than this before.

​So, take a deep breath, grab your scarf, and prepare to turn McDiarmid (and Dens!) into a fortress this week and next.

Get behind the boys, leave the silly mistakes in the changing room, and put those chances away. Up the Saints!

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints, external

Former Scotland captain Scott Brown says St Johnstone need to keep their forwards fit to be safe in the Scottish Premiership this season.

Watch the best of the action as Hearts end their memorable week on a high by beating St Johnstone. (Available to UK users only)

Hearts were forced to show steely resolve again as they battled past St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership following their midweek European heroics.

Read the full match report here.

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St Johnstone head coach Simo Valakari: "We created enough chances, but if you don't take them it's hard to win and we didn't. That's the disappointment.

"I like how we played, our players wanted to show themselves. When we found our rhythm, the boys really played, but it's all about the result and we did not get it.

"The belief was there, it took us 15-20 minutes to find the spaces and even first half, we had our chances. We stepped up pressure in the second half and had more turnovers higher up the field.

"When we do that, we're a very good team and we created a lot of very good moments there.

"We need to repeatedly do the right things, getting in the right positions to score. There'll be games where we don't create that many chances and score more goals. That's the nature of football.

"If we keep doing the right things, keep pushing, the goals will come."

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Hearts could hand a debut to new American striker JJ Williams (pictured).

However, Tom Renaud joins Ageu, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley on the sidelines.

And Harry Milne is a doubt.

St Johnstone's new Bosnian left-back Enes Alic could make his first club appearance.

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Defender Jack Baird has left St Johnstone to join Raith Rovers for an undisclosed fee.

The 30-year-old moved to McDiarmid Park last summer and helped Saints bounce back to the Premiership at the first attempt.

He departs to join second-tier Raith after 37 appearances and three goals for the Perth club.

Baird, who has signed a two-year deal at Stark's Park, is available to make his debut in Friday night's Fife derby against Dunfermline.

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Enes Alic had to wait for his move to St Johnstone but feels the timing was perfect when he eventually arrived.

Saints confirmed Alic's signing on Monday after the Bosnian left Zeljeznicar Sarajevo amid a contract dispute.

The full-back played in a friendly after last week's trip to Celtic Park was postponed for the European schedule.

And the 26-year-old feels that has benefited him before his potential debut against Hearts on Saturday.

"It was a perfect time to come because I played a friendly so it was perfect to see how everything was going," said Alic.

"I had a problem with my previous club over money they owed. We gave them a deadline of 15 days to fix it and pay me my money and insurance and everything and they didn't pay. So I am here now as a free agent.

"I can't wait to play my first game. The fans can expect speed, shooting and crossing, I like to attack the space. I like to defend first and foremost but I do enjoy getting forward too."

Raith Rovers have agreed a deal for St Johnstone defender Jack Baird, although the player is yet to agree personal terms. (Courier, external)

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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• St Johnstone have lost 10 of their past 11 Scottish Premiership visits to Hearts, including six in a row since a 1-0 victory in December 2019.

• Hearts are on a run of eight successive home wins in the Premiership, their longest sequence at Tynecastle in the top flight since also winning eight in a row from August to December 2005.

• St Johnstone have won just one of their past 14 away games in the Premiership (D2 L11), losing their latest five in a row, including their first of this season 1-0 at St Mirren.

• Hearts have won their past 10 top-flight meetings with St Johnstone since a 2-1 defeat in February 2022.

• Since the start of last season, Hearts forward Claudio Braga has the second-most goal involvements (20 - 15 goals, 5 assists) in the Premiership behind Celtic's Benjamin Nygren (24).

St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari had no doubts a deal for Enes Alic would go through, despite opposition from the left-back's former club Zeljeznicar. (Courier), external

Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.

Sam Miller
Fan writer

It started out as simple football withdrawal - a fixture-free weekend for the men's side left a glaring void in the schedule, meaning heading down to support St Johnstone WFC.

What was meant to be a one-off fix a few seasons back quickly made one thing abundantly clear: women's football isn't just a substitute, it is entirely its own sport.

​Without the endless tactical posturing and constant VAR stoppages that plague the men's game, the flow is refreshing.

It is end-to-end, honest, and fiercely competitive football where physical commitment meets unfiltered drama.

There is an openness to the matches that makes every minute feel unpredictable, and the entertainment value has been off the charts.

​Take Sunday's clash against Falkirk. Heading into the dying moments trailing, the late pressure finally paid off with a last-minute equaliser, prompting pure relief and joy on the pitch and in the stand.

Following an injury-time winner in the final match of last season to avoid the relegation play-offs, this team has proved they never know when they're beaten.

​If missing a men's fixture is what it takes to discover football played with this much authenticity, then long live the blank weekends.

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints, external

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St Johnstone have signed Bosnian left-back Enes Alic on a two-year deal, just days after his former club Zeljeznicar initiated "disciplinary proceedings" against him.

On 18 August, the Bosnian outfit called on Alic to "fulfill his contractual obligations", external, implying he was still their player.

However, the 26-year-old, who has also played for clubs in Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia, has now completed his transfer to Perth.

"I am very happy to be here," Alic said.

"St Johnstone is a great club with great traditions and supporters. I can't wait to play my first game.

"I have heard a lot about the Scottish Premiership. There is a lot of passion and high intensity in this league. It is a hard league, but I want to test myself. I am ready to go.

"The fans can expect speed, shooting and crossing, I like to attack the space. I like to defend first and foremost but I do enjoy getting forward too."

St Johnstone goalkeeper Simo Valakari may decide to have three goalkeepers compete for the number one slot at McDiarmid Park. (Courier - subscription required, external)

Monday's Scottish gossip

St Johnstone have decided against offering a contract to Welsh midfielder Aaron Lewis, 28. (Courier - subscription required, external)

Friday's Scottish gossip