St Johnstone 2-2 Motherwell: Visitors spoil Craig Levein's debut with two-goal fightback

Craig Levein says St Johnstone got "spooked" as Motherwell hit back from two goals down to secure a Scottish Premiership point in his first match in charge of the Perth side.

First-half goals from Nicky Clark and Andy Considine looked to have the home side on course for the win that would have lifted them off the bottom of the table.

However, Motherwell roared back with close-range finishes from Shane Blaney and Mika Biereth to deny the hosts a second successive win.

Stuart Kettlewell's side, meanwhile, move above Hibernian into eighth despite their run without a victory now extending to eight games.

• Reaction & as it happened

Levein was disappointed to have lost a two-goal lead but thinks the mistakes that led to them "are easily rectifiable" and stressed that it "takes time to get these messages across to the players".

"The third goal is the vital one," Levein told BBC Scotland. "If they get it, they're back in the match. It knocked us, we got spooked."

Motherwell thought they had the perfect start when Conor Wilkinson got the better of Considine before lobbing a fine finish over goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, but the goal was ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR) after the striker was ruled to have handled in the build-up.

That disappointment was compounded just a few minutes later when Clark headed home from a corner to open the scoring, the striker's third goal in two games.

It was all too easy as Well's recent defensive frailties were laid bare again and, 10 minutes later, they failed to deal with another corner, the ball bobbling around the box and Considine smashed home from close range to double Saints' lead.

Motherwell introduced Theo Bair at the break and the substitute striker almost applied the finishing touch to Biereth's cutback only to be denied by some excellent defending from Ryan McGowan.

The visitors were having their best spell of the game and the got the goal they needed when Wilkinson headed back across goal for Blaney to power home a header.

Motherwell were a team transformed and they fashioned a wonderful equaliser with 15 minutes to go.

Substitute Georgie Gent drove down the wing and delivered a terrific cross that Biereth met with a gorgeous cushioned volley to find the net.

The away side were sensing three points and only a superb last-ditch tackle from Liam Gordon prevented Bair from going clean through on goal.

Matt Smith's inventive scissor-kick volley had to be tipped over by Motherwell goalkeeper Liam Kelly, while Blair Spittal's fierce long-drive brought a decent stop out of Mitov at the other end.

The game was wide open in the closing stages and Stevie May might have done better with a header that the St Johnstone striker flashed over the bar.

Oli Shaw then squandered a glorious opportunity to win it at the death for Well, but the substitute forward took too long to pull the trigger and the opportunity was lost as both sides had to settle for a point.

Player of the match - Mika Biereth

Even in Motherwell’s darkest moments in recent weeks, Mika Biereth has carried a threat and he took his goal wonderfully well.

Levein left confused as Kettlewell changes work - analysis

It's always advisable to avoid resorting to cliche, but it's impossible to describe this as anything other than a game of two halves.

St Johnstone looked so comfortable before the break. They did not have to work too hard for their goals but took them well enough - and the confidence seemed to be growing.

Levein will be annoyed and confused as to why his side fell off it so badly after the break, but credit has to go to his opposite number. Whatever Kettlewell said at half-time worked, as did his substitutions.

Motherwell were a team transformed in the second-half and, had Shaw showed a bit more composure in the dying moments, they may well have been heading down the road with three points.

Their winless run goes on - that's eight league games now - but this feels like a big point on the road.

What they said

St Johnstone manager Craig Levein: "The third goal is the vital one. If they get it, they're back in the match.

"I'm a little disappointed that we got clawed back to 2-2, but all credit to the players, after that, they could have easily felt sorry for themselves. You've got to accept that this was a closely fought contest. I'm reasonably happy with some of the stuff we've played - their effort was fantastic."

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell: "We find ourselves facing a tough second half, in a tough spot. The thing that annoyed me in the first half was the goals really impacted the body language and confidence of our players. We looked shy, we didn't want to receive the ball, our energy was low.

"When we got our first goal, you can see the chances we can create. I'm disappointed at some of what I've seen tonight, but they've managed to dig themselves out of a massive hole. We showed good quality and character to get ourselves back into it."

What's next?: St Johnstone host Ross County on Saturday as Motherwell entertain Heart of Midlothian (both 15:00 GMT).