Rangers loanee Glenn Middleton came off the bench for St Johnstone as the Perthshire side suffered a McDiarmid Park humbling at the hands of Livingston.
David Martindale’s side thrashed Callum Davidson’s charges 3-0 in a rampant performance from the Lions which comes at an important moment for the side.
With Dundee also dumping northeast rivals Aberdeen, the win keeps them above the Dens Park club and out of the relegation zone.
Odin Bailey opened the scoring for Livi after only three minutes and the West Lothian side never looked back as they went on to record their second win of the campaign.
Bruce Anderson made it two just before the half-hour mark before Scott Pittman added some gloss to the victory midway through the second half.
The result leaves Livi in 10th with 7 points and St Johnstone are in 8th with 9 points after nine Scottish Premiership matches.
Rangers loanee Middleton struggling to hit heights of last season
Middleton – who was desperate to return to St Johnstone this season following a cup double winning loan spell in the last campaign – was introduced just after the hour mark.
But the pacey winger’s introduction – with the game at 2-0 – was quickly dampened by the Pittman effort just minutes later.
Whilst the Saints have lost some key players this summer the club’s successful campaign last season means there is an added expectancy amongst supporters this time around.
So far this season Middleton, 21, has made 11 appearances for the Saints, scoring once in the League Cup against Arbroath.
Next up for St Johnstone is a trip to Celtic Park and Rangers fans will be hoping Ibrox loanee Middleton can inflict some damage on our Old Firm rivals.
Middleton has previously spoken about how he hopes his spell with St Johnstone can catch the eye of Steven Gerrard.
