St Johnstone 0-0 Livingston: Callum Davidson's side clinch fifth with draw

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson says clinching European football for next season is a "magnificent achievement" for the club.

Avoiding defeat in their Premiership match against Livingstone means the Perth side are guaranteed at least a place in the Uefa Conference League.

However, should they beat Hibernian in next weekend's Scottish Cup final, they would be in a Europa League play-off.

"It was an unbelievable achievement today," said Davidson.

"Putting into perspective the week we've had - training, games, the semi-final, carrying very few players.

"It's probably been overshadowed by the Scottish Cup and what's gone on here behind the scenes in the last couple of weeks here.

"For me, it's huge. I remember when we qualified with Tommy [Wright], it was a great atmosphere here with 10,000 people. Hopefully we can get back to something like that."

Livingston finish sixth, having won just one of their last 12 matches.

• Reaction & as it happened

The match had a real end of season feel to it. St Johnstone looked like a team who had been dealing with the mental fatigue of a Covid-19 outbreak and the physical fatigue of a side who had put their all into qualifying for a second domestic cup final.

Livingston, meanwhile, just looked ready for the season to end.

Stevie May had the hosts' only shot on target, connecting relatively well with a volley, but Max Stryjek dealt with it comfortably.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas tried his luck at the other end shortly after, with Zdenek Zlamal at full stretch to tip his effort around a post. That was Livingston's only touch inside the St Johnstone area in the first 70 minutes.

The only clear chance of the match fell to Jaze Kabia, who robbed Shaun Rooney in his own box and fired an effort at Zlamal, who parried back towards the Livingston winger.

But, just as it looked as though Kabia would get a second bite at it, in came a clattering challenge from Jason Kerr. Kabia beat the turf in pain, but referee Craig Napier saw nothing wrong with the tackle.

Livingston were in the ascendancy in the closing stages, knowing that a goal would see them leapfrog the hosts in the dying embers of the season, but they failed to really trouble the St Johnstone back line.

Man of the match - Zdenek Zlamal

Two big saves from the on-loan goalkeeper ensured a fifth-place finish for Callum Davidson's side

What did we learn?

Despite having fifth place on the line, the game felt like a bit of a dead rubber, probably owing to fatigue on both sides.

St Johnstone will be delighted to have secured European football for next season regardless of their performance. It has been a testing couple of weeks, with a Covid-19 outbreak causing problems, but they can now look forward to the opportunity of earning an astonishing domestic cup double.

For Livingston, it has been a crawl towards the finish line. The new manager bounce under David Martindale fell falta a while back. Those eight wins out of 11 seem a distant memory, having lost eight of the 12 that followed.

Still, a top-half finish and their second-highest points total in the Premiership is not to be scoffed at. Martindale has exceeded expectations this season and then some.

What did they say?

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "We made one mistake to allow Livingston a chance and we had one chance ourselves.

"It wasn't a great game, but I asked the players to get a result and they did that."

Livingston manager David Martindale: "We created the only real chance of the game, there wasn't much in it.

"It's been a fantastic season, it's been incredible, the boys have to take credit for that. It's two top-six finishes for a club of our size is monumental."

What is next?

Livingston can put their feet up and relax, while St Johnstone step up their preparations for the Scottish Cup final with Hibernian on Saturday 22 May (14:00 BST).