Tommy Wright delighted with his St Johnstone players after battling victory at Hamilton
The Saints are up to second in the Premiership after coming from behind to win
Last updated 24th Sep 2017
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright heaped praise on his side after they came from behind to defeat Hamilton and go second in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Accies grabbed a deserved first-half lead with Greg Docherty's 24th-minute opener and had opportunities to extend their advantage.
However, the match turned on its head after the break as Steven MacLean's 49th-minute equaliser gave Saints hope and Murray Davidson nodded in the winner six minutes from time.
It was the ideal response from the Perth side after their first league defeat of the season against Tayside rivals Dundee seven days previously.
Wright said: “We knew it was never going to be easy because Hamilton are an underrated team and have good players.
“They are one team you don't want to go behind against because they battle so hard and have quality.
“You have to win the individual battles across the pitch. We didn't do it in the first half but I felt we won them in the second.
“So it's a great win for us and we're delighted to be in second place, even if it might only be for a few hours.
“It's good for our fans to look at the league table and be happy with where we are.”
Aberdeen, level on points with Saints, play Motherwell on Sunday.
Wright's satisfaction contrasted wildly with the anger of Accies counterpart Martin Canning.
The Hamilton manager felt the least his side should have earned from the game was a point after being so much in control in the first half.
However, it was a third consecutive defeat for the Lanarkshire outfit after losses to Hearts and Celtic and Canning voiced his bitter disappointment.
He said: “I'm raging, I've had to give myself 10 minutes to calm down.
“That's not acceptable, to be as in control as we were and end up losing that game.
“It's really disappointing and it's something I thought we had learned from.
“In games like this, you've got to pick up points. Ultimately, you take your point and you move on.
“We probably would have thought we deserved the three, but to go and lose it again is really disappointing.
“That is the second week in a row. We probably should have beaten Hearts and were better than St Johnstone, but ultimately they are both sitting with three more points than us because we haven't taken the points."