Livingston 1-1 St Johnstone: Perth side set to face relegation play-off
- Published
Glenn Middleton's 76th-minute strike looked to have spared St Johnstone from automatic relegation
St Johnstone are still "looking over our shoulder", says manager Callum Davidson, after a last-minute equaliser by Livingston prevented the Perth men avoiding automatic relegation.
Glenn Middleton's strike looked to have confirmed Davidson's side cannot finish bottom of the Scottish Premiership, but Jack Fitzwater's leveller means it is still a - albeit remote - possibility.
However, St Mirren's win against Dundee means St Johnstone are eight points from 10th place and certain of at least the relegation play-off.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle or Arbroath await in that final and, while St Johnstone will not relish that prospect, they hold a six point and seven-goal lead over Dundee with two games left in the race to avoid bottom spot.
"It doesn't really change what our aim is. It was going to be a tall order to finish 10th from where we were," Davidson told BBC Scotland.
"We're still looking over our shoulder and have to put really good performances in against Aberdeen and Hibs. We want to make sure we can win them and get into the play-offs with a bit of confidence."
St Johnstone's downfall all season has been a lack of firepower and, after Callum Hendry turned a fantastic chance over the bar after 30 seconds, they struggled to threaten the Livingston goal until Middleton's intervention.
The Scotland Under-21 international came off the bench to prod home James Brown's perfectly judged cross from the left to hand his team a boost, and at that stage send Dundee down.
But in the last minute Jason Holt's delivery caused chaos in the St Johnstone box as Zander Clark produced a great save to prevent a Scott Pittman's header flying in, before Fitzwater buried the rebound.
Even then, the visitors produced a flurry at the end and twice went close to a winner.
Hendry snuck in behind the Livingston defence but was denied when one-on-one with Ivan Konovalov and then the home goalkeeper saved Middleton's near-post shot at the death.
The draw consolidates Livingston's grip on seventh place and they created enough chances before their leveller to merit a point.
The best of them fell to Odin Bailey, but Zander Clark stood tall to stop the shot with his foot.
Man of the match - Glenn Middleton
Middleton made a terrific impact off the bench and improved St Johnstone's attacking threat
What did we learn?
The workrate and edge from St Johnstone was much better this week than against St Mirren last time, but ultimately it was that defeat at McDiarmid Park which realistically consigned them to the play-off berth.
Davidson conceded that before kick-off, but he will want to see more from his team in attack in the final two league games before the play-offs, particularly as a point would ensure they are not the victims of a possible - if unlikely - Dundee revival.
Hendry and Middleton were bright, but at the business end of the season they need to be clinical consistently given how few chances the team create.
Livingston boss David Martindale has recovered from illness and was back prowling the touchline and barking at his team in the first half, which he clearly wasn't happy with.
Their performances over the course of the campaign deserved a top-half berth, so seventh would be just rewards for their efforts.
It was not their best display but as usual they competed ferociously and arguably had the better chances.
What they said
Livingston manager David Martindale: "On the balance of play overall there wasn't a lot in the game. I think it had 0-0 written all over it and then St Johnstone scored and we managed to get back in the game. I think the fans were lucky to get two goals today."
St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "First half we were quite good and tried to have a go at them. Second half it became a bit scrappy and we didn't play the ball forward early enough and put them under more pressure.
"We scored a really good goal but I'm disappointed at the end because we could have played forward earlier and we've gone back to the goalie. From that we get a free kick [against us] and we concede a goal."
What's next?
Both sides are in action on Wednesday for the penultimate round of Premiership fixtures. With Dundee playing Hibernian on Tuesday, St Johnstone might already be sure of avoiding last place when they host Aberdeen (19:45 BST) while Livingston are away to St Mirren.