St Johnstone 1-1 Ross County: Perth side five games unbeaten

St Johnstone extended their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership to five games with a hard-fought draw against Ross County.

Tommy Wright's side had the better of the contest and had numerous efforts, only for County to take the lead with a close-range finish by Iain Vigurs.

But the Perth side salvaged a point with a late Callum Hendry header.

Brian Graham was then shown a second yellow card and sent off for lunging jump in to Jason Kerr.

The result means St Johnstone and County sit two and three points respectively above 11th place.

• Reaction & as it happened

Hosts can't turn domination into points

Just one point separated these two sides ahead of Sunday's match - a stat that became abundantly clear after a first half that showed very little between either team.

County perhaps went closest to going ahead in the opening stages when Ross Stewart played a smart one-two with Billy Mckay on the edge of the box, resulting in a shot directly at a grateful Zander Clark.

Amidst a dearth of genuine chances for either side, an injury to the aforementioned Stewart proved to be a pivotal marker in the match.

The 23-year-old had netted 11 goals this season - a third of his club's Premiership tally - so his substitution was a grievous blow for County.

If there was a need to showcase what County were now missing, it came just after the half hour when Kerr allowed a cross to bounce through to Graham, who panicked and squirted his effort out of play.

With County struggling, St Johnstone started the second half with far less to fear in defence and much more to gain up front.

Ali McCann set the tone with a darting run down the left flank, before cutting inside and curling a shot towards the back post. It went wide but not by much.

Five minutes later the hosts came close again when a set-piece from the right found Kerr, who headed back towards Matty Kennedy directly in front of goal. The attacker only had to nod in but the speed of the ball and pressure from his marker resulted it his attempt soaring over the cross bar.

After struggling from a few yards out, Kennedy then came even closer from outside the box with a shot that fizzled towards Nathan Baxter, who managed to push it on to the crossbar.

But for all St Johnstone's pressure, it was County who took the lead. McKay laying the ball off to Vigurs, who knocked the ball in to give his side a surprising lead.

With the game turned on its head, St Johnstone pressed on with half chances and optimistic shots peppering the County goal.

The equaliser did come. With just six minutes left, Kennedy burst down the left and swung the ball in to the front post, where Hendry leaped above his marker to head the ball home.

Off the back of match-winning goals against Hamilton Academical and Hearts, and a second goal to confirm a draw for his side this season, Hendry had once again shown up at the right time.

The 22-year-old would come close just moments later with another header, before Kerr and Stevie May made their own attempts to find a winner. But Baxter was equal to every chance.

County afternoon ended on a further disappointing note when Graham received his second yellow card for a late lunge against Kerr.

In the end, St Johnstone had 15 attempts on goal to County's four. A sign of the home side's new-found fluidity up front but also a sign of two points dropped for the Perth side.

Man of the match - Matty Kennedy

BBC Scotland's Tyrone Smith at McDiarmid Park

Not for the first team this season, Kennedy caught the eye with another standout display. Every time he had the ball, you sensed something was going to happen and it usually did.

He set up the goal, and could have had one, or two, himself. Kennedy delivered a performance which will further add to his soaring reputation.

'We probably should have won' - reaction

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright: "The three times we've played Ross County this year have all left us frustrated.

"We controlled the whole game and were by far the better side. We went to sleep and got caught but showed great character to come back and probably should have won the game."

Ross County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell: "There's disappointment in our performance. There's no doubt about it. We never felt as if we got going at any point.

"We came up short in a lot of aspects. So it's probably a point gained for us if I'm being brutally honest. We're not going to try and convince people we were the better team. We weren't."