Jason Holt Leads St Johnstone F.c. to 2-0 Title Win

st johnstone f.c. sealed an instant return to the William Hill Premiership on 29 April 2026, beating Dunfermline 2-0 at East End Park to clinch the Championship title. The result put them seven points clear of Partick Thistle with two games left and ended the season with promotion secured.

Reece McAlear broke the deadlock in the 56th minute, and Ruari Paton added the second in the 72nd. Those goals finished off a run that had started on opening day, when St Johnstone beat Partick Thistle 5-1 and took control of the league from the start.

East End Park

Dunfermline manager Neil Lennon made five changes to his starting line-up after his side had played 120 minutes at Hampden and then beaten Falkirk on penalties in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Even so, Josh McPake still came close in the first half when he hit the underside of the bar from 15 yards.

St Johnstone stayed steady through that spell and kept the pressure on the title race without giving Partick Thistle any opening. Partick had drawn with Airdrie on Saturday, which left the Saints needing only to finish the job at East End Park.

Jason Holt

Jason Holt said the mood after the final whistle was relief. “It's just relief to get over the line. Testament to the staff and players because we set the standard from day one and we stayed there.”

The captain also pointed to the gap between the top side and the rest of the division. “Fair play to other teams putting pressure on us but we knew we were the best team in the league.”

St Johnstone went through the Championship with the lead they built from day one, and the title was theirs before the two remaining fixtures could change anything. For Partick Thistle, the draw at Airdrie and the Saints’ win meant the chase was over.