St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "We needed this. We needed these three points to try and climb the table.

Motherwell's last game was against St Johnstone, and they lost. In that encounter, an early strike in the ninth minute denied them maximum points. However, Motherwell have struggled in recent times, losing to Hibernian while drawing Kilmarnock. This season, Motherwell have accumulated 31 points from 23 league matches.

While St Johnstone knocked Motherwell out of the Scottish Cup last week, they have lost both of their league meetings with the Steelmen this season (both 2-1), last losing three in a row against them in the top flight in April 2012.

Goals on 86 and 88 minutes ensured a dramatic and potentially priceless victory for bottom-side St Johnstone as they ended a nine-game winless run in the Scottish Premiership against Motherwell.