Finishing the season with a positive result was of great importance to St Johnstone WFC head coach Jason McCrindle.
And his players delivered on Sunday afternoon by surging to a 5-2 McDiarmid Park curtain-closing victory against Stirling University.
Saints had moved into a two-goal lead thanks to finishes from Rachel Todd and Ellie-May Cowie before the students mounted a comeback early in the second half.
But a determined Perth side were not to be denied three points with Morgan Steedman, Nicole Carter and Rebecca McGowan all on target in the closing 15 minutes.
The win ensured that Saints finished fifth in the Scottish Women’s Premier League 2.
“We wanted to end the season on a positive note given the fact we’d started like that all those months ago,” McCrindle told the PA.
“The message to the players was to finish on a high, get the three points and show what we’re capable of doing.
“We’ve been ahead in games, clawed back and previously went on to lose. But we were determined to win the game on Sunday.
“We made a couple of changes when it went back to 2-2 and the players who came on helped swing the momentum back in our favour. Now we’ve got that positivity for when we come back to start the new season.”
McCrindle admits the break will be welcomed by staff and players following a hectic schedule thrown up after a COVID-19-impacted year.
He said: “I just hope we don’t have to go through this again because it’s been so demanding, especially the last four weeks.
“It has been tough but it’s done now and we’ll really look forward to having a break before getting back going when the season restarts.”
The Saints head coach paid tribute to Rhee Tweedie and Emma MacLean who both played their last match for the club at the weekend.
McCrindle added: “Rhee is retiring and Emma is stepping back due to other commitments.
“We’re already in the process of speaking to players and building for next year. We’re busy with that just now.”
