St Johnstone followed up one of their worst performances of the season with one of their best.
The Perth men were outplayed in Inverness earlier in the week but threw the kitchen sink at title contenders Aberdeen at McDiarmid Park, and should have had more to show for it than just one point.
Chance after chance came in a one-sided first half for the hosts, but it wasn’t until 30 minutes that they eventually took the lead when Simon Lappin volleyed home for his first Saints goal.
It took a goal of the season contender from Adam Rooney to equalise in the second half but it was more than the Dons merited.
If they do go on to claim an unlikely championship, Aberdeen will look back on this point as a significant one.
In truth though, they looked a long way short of league-winning standard.See full match reaction in Saturday’s CourierIt was a much-changed Saints team from the one which was well beaten in Inverness on Tuesday night.
Tommy Wright made no fewer than six changes, with Steven MacLean, Murray Davidson, Gary Miller, Lee Croft, Brian Easton and Chris Kane all starting.
Aberdeen were along familiar lines, on the other hand, apart from Willo Flood coming in for the injured Ash Taylor.
It wasn’t the settled side that started quickest though. It was the new-look one.
After just three minutes the Aberdeen defence got themselves into a mess and Kane, making his first start for Saints, was through on goal.
The Dons centre-backs may have been caught cold but keeper Scott Brown wasn’t, and he sprinted out to meet the Perth striker and blocked the shot.
When the ball broke to MacLean he went down under a challenge from Mark Reynolds, but referee Bobby Madden didn’t award a penalty.
Saints kept the pressure on, and after five minutes Lappin narrowly missed the far post with a free-kick on the angle.
Next to try his luck three minutes later was David Wotherspoon.
He did a fine job of making space for himself to shoot from a central position on the edge of the box, but his effort was less impressive and sailed over the bar.
There hadn’t been much need for defending in the early stages for Saints, but it was their slackness (a poor Wotherspoon back pass) that allowed ex-Perth player Peter Pawlett an unexpected shot on goal.
Thankfully for Wright’s men, Alan Mannus was as alert as his opposite number Brown had been at the start of the match and was able to block.
There hadn’t been many fouls in the match certainly not bad ones but MacLean was late and high with a touchline challenge on Shay Logan and was rightly booked.
All that had been missing from the Saints performance was a goal, and that was put right on the half hour mark. And in some style.
Miller crossed from the right, Andrew Considine only half cleared with his header and the ball dropped on to the right boot of Lappin, who lashed a volley past Brown.
There was nearly a second home goal moments later when Brown spilled a Wotherspoon shot. By the time Croft arrived at the loose ball, the angle was too acute for the winger to find the net and Brown put Croft’s shot out for a corner.
A game of head tennis ensued from the set-piece, with the keeper none too convincing, but the ball was eventually cleared.
Saints thoroughly deserved their half-time lead but it had come under threat just before the break, twice within a minute.
First David Goodwillie saw a shot blocked from point blank range at the back post after a goal-mouth scramble, and then when Niall McGinn crossed the ball back into the box the same player’s header struck the bar.
Derek McInnes, unsurprisingly, made a half-time change, with the ineffective Flood being replaced by Cammy Smith.
It didn’t make an immediate impact, as the Reds were almost 2-0 down before Smith had even touched the ball when Croft struck the base of the post with a right foot shot.
However, Aberdeen have dug themselves out of bigger holes than 1-0 down, and an equaliser arrived out of nothing on 57 minutes.
Goodwillie flicked on a long ball and Rooney blasted a spectacular 22-yard half-volley into the roof of the net for his 20th goal of the season.
Saints should have restored their lead three minutes later.
Croft found Kane unmarked in the box. The youngster had time to take a touch but attempted a first time strike and barely made contact with the ball.
Kane’s energy had caused Aberdeen problems all night and when he chased down a ball over the top he was furious that Madden didn’t punish Considine for pulling him back.
Neither side looked content to settle for a point and as the game yo-yoed from one end to the other, Goodwillie fired over the bar with an acrobatic overhead-kick and Kane did likewise with a shot from 18 yards out.
On 82 minutes Smith was just off target with a near post diving header.
With full-time looming large, Jonny Hayes got back to deny MacLean as he pulled the trigger, then substitute Lawrence Shankland forced a fine save out of Mannus.
In stoppage time Brown prevented a late winner for Saints with a double save, first from Davidson and then Michael O’Halloran.
There was still time left for MacLean to be inches away from getting on the end of a low O’Halloran cross, but it was to be just one point rather than three for the home team.
St Johnstone Mannus, Scobbie, Lappin, Anderson, MacLean, Wotherspoon, Davidson, Miller (Wright), Croft (Caddis 74), Easton, Kane (O’Halloran 80). Subs not used Banks, Graham, Brown, Kitchen.
Aberdeen Brown, Logan, Considine, Reynolds, Flood (Smith 45) Rooney, McGinn, Hayes, Pawlett (Robson 87), Goodwillie (Shankland 77) Jack. Subs not used Langfield, Shaughnessy, McManus, Masson.
Referee Bobby Madden
Attendance 4626