Simo Valakari admitted his team didn’t handle Kilmarnock’s smothering tactics as St Johnstone dropped six points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership.
Saints lost 3-0 at Rugby Park, a complete reversal of the scoreline of their August visit to Ayrshire under Craig Levein’s watch.
Valakari had enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Killie in November but Derek McInnes’s side exacted emphatic revenge for those two results.
Kilmarnock were hellbent on stopping Saints’ build-up play from the back.
Their press worked a treat, causing trouble for Valakari’s men right from the start and spawning a ninth minute opener from Liam Polworth.
Elliot Watt had the ball pinched from him by Bobby Wales as he tried to control a pass from Andy Fisher on the edge of his box.
Wales fed Polworth who clipped a clever finish over Fisher – the first goal conceded from open play by Saints since the 3-1 loss to Rangers on January 12.
A 30-yard Fraser Murray free-kick and an excellent goal by Killie’s teenage striker Wales condemned Saints to their fate by the hour.
Valakari said: “It was a tough result. Credit to the opponent. They do what they do very well.
“The high-energy press, we were not able in the key moments to get through that.
“When we did get through, there was a lack of concentration on the passes. So that went wrong.
“For the first goal, I ask our boys to play that way so it can happen. This is the first time it’s happened where we’ve lost the ball in the build-up, so we will keep going.
“Then, what has given us the backbone in the last few matches has been the fact that we’ve been solid, not conceding goals.
“To concede so early in the second half makes it very difficult. But our boys kept going.”
Valakari was pleased with the persistence of his players to the end after Saints mustered a 91st minute reply.
Stephen Duke-McKenna, a second half star against Hamilton in the Scottish Cup last week, impressed again.
The wide man typified a never-say-die attitude that culminated in Graham Carey rounding off a fine move with a neat finish.
Duke-McKenna replaced Victor Griffith on 23 minutes after the Panamanian went over on his ankle.
Valakari believes Saints can make better use of the space freed up when Duke-McKenna’s danger sucks in opposition defenders.
He said: “Even at 3-0, we didn’t give up. We kept pushing and we got a great goal but, unfortunately, it was too late.
“There were good combinations with Duke-McKenna who keeps trying to beat his opponent and was a very difficult player to play against.
“He can drag two or three players to him and we need others to understand that there will then be space free for them.
“It didn’t help first half when we had to take Victor out. He twisted his ankle.
“It was a pity that we didn’t get the chance to really go for it to get something out of the game because we conceded the second and the third goal.”
Ross County’s victory at Motherwell left Dundee, who lost to Aberdeen, as the closest side within reach for Saints in the relegation zone.
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