St Johnstone preserved their Premiership breathing space with a comeback draw against Kilmarnock.
After a woeful first half when the Perth side were fortunate to not be more than one goal down, Drey Wright’s sixth of the season, a stunning 20-yarder, salvaged a draw.
The result keep Saints 10 points ahead of bottom placed Dundee United and extends the gap to second bottom Ross County to eight.
Key moments
It’s hard to do justice to how poor St Johnstone’s first half performance was.
The meek pressing, sub-standard passing and chaotic defending all seemed to blur into a 45-minute mess.
They got a scarcely deserved reprieve when a Kyle Vassell opening goal from a Daniel Armstrong corner was disallowed for handball after the standard VAR check.
But Saints were incapable of taking advantage of their good fortune.
On the 38th minute Remi Matthews misjudged a Jordan Jones inswinging free-kick from a long way out and Joe Wright had a simple back post finish.
It couldn’t get any worse from a Perth perspective after the break and, mercifully, it did indeed get markedly better.
Every facet of the game improved and Wright’s equaliser was his second sweet long-range strike of the season.
It came on the 70th minute after a Zak Rudden shot was blocked.
Killie piled on the pressure after finding a second wind but Saints stood out for a precious point, with Matthews making a fine last minute save to deny Fraser Murray.
Saints’ star man – Drey Wright
The wing-back was as poor as the rest of his team-mates in the first half but raised his levels considerably in the second period.
And where would Saints be without Wright’s goals?
Player ratings
Matthews 7, Mitchell 5, Gordon 6, Considine 6, Brown 4 (McLennan 5), Hallberg 6, MacPherson 6, Carey 4 (Wotherspoon 6), May 6, Bair 6 (Rudden 6), Wright 7.
Manager under the microscope
Yes, there were injuries and a suspension keeping four key men out of the team but the starting line-up Davidson chose felt like a big risk.
And it didn’t work.
James Brown was as uncomfortable at left wing-back as the last time Saints played a Rugby Park and Graham Carey again did little to justify his manager’s continued faith in him.
The substitution of the former five minutes before the break and the latter just after the hour told you both had disappointing afternoons.
Davidson’s replacements, though, made a big contribution to the second half revival.
Man in the middle
Saints certainly couldn’t have any complaints about the referee, Chris Graham, or his VAR colleague, Mike Roncone, on this occasion.
As well as the goal chalked off, there was a big second half VAR decision when it took a while to decide whether Andy Considine should be penalised for handball when he challenged for a back post cross with Wright.
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