St Johnstone 0-0 Dundee United: Resilient Saints please Callum Davidson
- Published
Melker Hallberg was sent off for the hosts
Callum Davidson was pleased with the "commitment and resilience" of his St Johnstone side after the 10 men held Dundee United to a goalless draw in the Scottish Premiership.
The Perth side moved a point clear of bottom spot, despite Melker Hallberg's red card early in the second period.
"They fought and limited Dundee United to very few clear cut chances," the Saints manager said.
"On another day, we could have come away with three points."
Ali Crawford for the hosts and Dundee United's Tony Watt hit the woodwork but neither side had too many clear cut chances as United crept into the top six.
What happens when an stoppable force meets an movable object? A drab 0-0 game, apparently.
Davidson made no changes to the side that beat Livingston through the week, clearly happy with the determination his side showed in a game they did not particularly deserve to win.
Tam Courts handed a debut to Arsenal-loanee Tim Akinola, although the midfielder was hooked at half-time after an ineffective showing.
The pre-match stats forewarned a bleak afternoon. Since October, St Johnstone have not won at home and United have failed to win on the road. Both sides only had one win in their past five.
Crawford was the first brave soul to threaten the scoresheet. After Hallberg barged his man over, his fellow midfielder burst into the box with United still expecting the whistle. The Swede cut it back to Crawford, who rattled the underside of the bar.
The game was played with the physicality of a Tayside derby at least, with tackles flying in left, right and centre.
One notable tangle was Hallberg hauling down Watt on the edge of the area. The booking would come back to haunt the hosts after the break with Hallberg shown a second yellow card for pulling down Ian Harkes when the American had robbed him and sent Watt towards goal.
Play initially went on but when referee Colin Steven eventually pulled it back, the Hallberg and St Johnstone bench were perplexed to see the red card emerge.
Watt would have one more solo effort, a close range shot thumping off the post.
Man of the Match - Tony Watt
The Dundee United striker looked the most likely to score in Perth
What we learned
Was that Livingston win just a flash in the pan? St Johnstone showed grit and street smarts to weather the storm and hit on the counter to win through the week but they lost that bite against United.
Albeit, they had to play a large part of the second half with 10 men - St Johnstone sixth red card of the season. Davidson needs to address their disciplinary issue as with a full compliment, it would have been much easier to steal three points at the final whistle.
Watt cut a frustrated figure - as did the 2,000 strong away support.
Although they are now up to sixth, United fans want a decent product to watch on the pitch. They saw very little of that in Perth.
What they said
St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "I'm more pleased with the commitment and resilience of the players. They fought and limited Dundee United to very few clear cut chances.
"Baffled, if I'm honest. I was told it was a tug, then I was told an arm around. If they're going to book Melker for that, they'll have to book every player on the pitch. It's part of the game. It's another refereeing decision that could cost us three points. We've had a far too many this season and it's really hurting us."
Dundee United manager Tam Courts: "Really frustrated. We seemed to grow into the game. The only thing that went against us was St Johnstone going down to 10 men because that forced their hand tactically. We had to try and break down 10 men.
"We had a lot of balls fizzing across goal, consistent consecutive corners but we just couldn't get the breakthrough today."
What's next
It's the battle of the Saints on Wednesday night - St Johnstone travel to St Mirren, whilst United host Motherwell (both 19:45 GMT).