‘Different class’ Callum Hendry hits St Johnstone to victory against Motherwell

Posted Sunday, March 20, 2022 by PA

St Johnstone assistant manager Steven MacLean hailed Callum Hendry after the striker claimed a spectacular stoppage-time winner against Motherwell.

Hendry let a long ball bounce before firing into the top corner from the corner of box to earn a 2-1 victory which moved Saints four points clear of cinch Premiership bottom club Dundee.

The striker had earlier cancelled out Kevin van Veen’s solo effort when he headed home in the 21st minute.

But the 24-year-old saved the best for last towards the end of a scrappy game that was lit up by the two goalscorers.

MacLean said: “It’s the confidence to hit it from there but it’s also the technique. As a finisher, he’s got that top technique.

“He’s always got a goal like that in him, the spectacular. You see it in training.

“Those goals will happen every now and again. It’s the ones in the box me and the gaffer are on at him about. They are the bread and butter, those are the important ones.

“He has been different class, not just his goals but his all-round play and his work-rate for the team. So he deserves everything he gets.”

MacLean was standing in for manager Callum Davidson, who was at home self-isolating after contracting coronavirus.

“I spoke to Callum straight away, I called him,” MacLean said. “He’s delighted.

“The win was for him. We wanted to win the game for the gaffer.

“It’s unfortunate that he couldn’t be here. But we are all together. He brought me and a lot of players to the club.”

Motherwell manager Graham Alexander bemoaned another major blow which left his team in eighth place and without a league win in 11 games.

His side perked up after Kaiyne Woolery came on 32 minutes into what had been an uneventful second half, and the substitute hit the post before being booked for diving during a promising break. Van Veen came close to an equaliser but Zander Clark tipped over his free-kick.

Alexander said: “I thought it was a game where there only looked like one winner. We were really pushing for that winning goal, we hit the post and the keeper has made a good save.

“And they have scored from nothing really. It was a wonder strike but there’s things we could do to not let him have that opportunity.

“It’s a sore one because even if it had finished 1-1 we would have been disappointed because I felt it was a game we could have won.”

On Woolery’s yellow card, the Well boss said: “I think what happened was he got contact and should have gone down with the contact but didn’t and then thought, ‘I should have gone down’, and went down. So I’ve got no issues with the booking.

“I think if he’d gone down with the initial contact we’d have got a penalty.

“Little things like that, not just that, we are just getting punished for any slight mistake. But they are our mistakes so we have to own them and take responsibility for them.”