St Johnstone

Craig Levein is delighted that he will be able to call on the services of Adama Sidibeh at a vital stage in St Johnstone’s battle at the bottom of the cinch Premiership.

The striker was introduced from the bench after 77 minutes as Levein’s side grabbed a late leveller to earn a share of the spoils against Livingston in a 1-1 draw – just one week on from requiring hospital treatment after collapsing on the pitch against St Mirren.

Following a series of tests, Sidibeh was given the all-clear by the Saints medical team, and Levein is hoping he can make a big impact.

“We got the scan results on Adama and there are no cardiac issues at all,” Levein said.

“I think he just worked so hard last week he’s ended up dizzy due to the exertion.

“We looked at his numbers for high intensity running and he was twice or three times some of the others.

“You have to go through all the medical checks to make sure there isn’t something there which will cause a problem in the future.

“We’re delighted to get him back and I thought he was unlucky again not to score.”

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• Graham Carey has assisted six goals this season (one in this game), more than any other St Johnstone player in the Scottish Premiership.

• Livingston have scored in their last four games in the Scottish Premiership, their joint longest scoring streak this season.

• Nicky Clark has scored six goals this season (one in this game), more than any other St Johnstone player in the Scottish Premiership.

• Livingston have scored in each of their last four games in the Scottish Premiership, scoring five goals in that run.

Craig Levein talks to BBC Scotland after St Johnstone drew 1-1 with Livingston.

Were you at McDiarmid Park as St Johnstone snatched a late point?

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St Johnstone manager Craig Levein told BBC Scotland: "They would have been as well not even using the ball today, just fighting. It was just a scrap.

"Both teams are fighting for their survival, it's not surprising it was a competitive match.

"It's a big point for us. Nicky's [Clark] got that canny ability to find the space in the penalty spot.

"Our crossing as worse than it usually is today. Nicky does what he does best and that's put the ball in the back of the net.

"We lacked calmness today. I think shouting people when they're lacking calmness doesn't really help. We showed up for a fight and forgot to play."

Sean McGill
BBC Sport Scotland

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St Johnstone will wonder how they escaped with anything after a poor performance in Perth.

The momentum picked up from victory at Pittodrie appeared non-existent and the crowd grew more and more frustrated with what they were witnessing.

Dan Phillips and Luke Robinson kept plugging away and provided the energy to keep Craig Levein's side in the contest, while it was their wily old head who showed up when it mattered most.

Now 11 points away from automatic relegation, it seems as though their top priority is now staying afloat and avoiding the relegation play-off place.

Where would St Johnstone be without this man?

Nicky Clark has recreated his knack of scoring big goals at big moments. There was no player on the park the home fans would have wanted that late chance to fall to.

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Unsurprisingly, Craig Levein names the same St Johnstone XI that ended their winless streak at Pittodrie.

In encouraging news, Adama Sidibeh is on the bench after his stint in hospital following his collapse in Paisley a week ago.

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St Johnstone: Mitov, Keltjens, McGowan, Gordon, Robinson, Phillips, Sprangler, M. Smith, Jaiyesimi, Kimpioka.

Substitutes: Richards, Gallacher, Considine, May, Carey, Kucheriavyi, Sidibeh, K. Smith, C. Smith.

Livingston: George, Devlin, Nottingham, Obileye, Kelly, MacKay, Carson, Holt, Montano Shinnie, Yengi.

Substitutes: McGovern, Anderson, Stephen Kelly, Brandon, Bradley, Nouble, Sangare, Guthrie, Culbert.

St Johnstone remain without striker Adama Sidibeh, plus long-term absentees Ali Crawford, Drey Wright, Ross Sinclair and Cammy MacPherson.

Livingston manager David Martindale is likely to be selecting from the same squad he had at his disposal for the midweek defeat by Motherwell.

James Penrice, Shaun Donnellan and Scott Pittman are all set to remain on the sidelines along with goalkeeper Jack Hamilton.

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St Johnstone winger Diallang Jaiyesimi has called for consistency from his team-mates after their crucial win over Aberdeen in midweek.

The 25-year-old set up Benjamin Kimpioka's goal to secure the 2-0 win over Neil Warnock's side on Wednesday night.

Now he wants to see a similar performance against bottom side Livingston in a game which could play a huge part in deciding his season's relegation contenders.

"We are now hoping for consistency and a run of victories," he told St Johnstone's website, external.

“We need to build on our performance against Aberdeen. We set the levels and now we need to keep on going.

“I want to keep my own personal levels up there too. If I can keep up my own performances, then hopefully we can score and create more.

“It would be massive if we could get a result against Livingston. We could climb a few places.

“Every game is a tough game and this one will be no different. Livingston like to battle and we can bring that as well."

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We offered you the chance to submit questions to one of our Sportscene pundits.

Q: Would you get rid of VAR?

I don’t envisage Scotland making a drastic call about VAR while other nations still operate with it. We need to accept it’s here to stay.

Within football there has to be an element of human error, players make mistakes, but the fact we’ve seen a big increase in errors means there’s clear improvement required.

That goes beyond Scottish football, though, you see that all over the place. What we need to do here is continue to upskill the referees. Their performances need to improve and there needs to be more accountability.

These incorrect decisions are very costly for clubs. Recognising an error is okay, but you can’t be offering out apologies every week.

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We offered you the chance to submit questions to one of our Sportscene pundits.

Q: How do you see the relegation fight unfolding?

The beauty of the split means every game will have a purpose.

With Bojan Miovski, Aberdeen will have enough because they have the ability to score goals.

Motherwell come into that same category with the additions they’ve made and the form of Theo Bair and Blair Spittal.

I think Livingston will put up a fight but will ultimately go down automatically. That leaves Ross County and St Johnstone to fight it out to avoid the play-off.

Can St Johnstone keep the momentum going after Wednesday night's victory over Aberdeen when Livingston make the trip up north?

Should Craig Levein stick with the same starting line-up or would you like to see the manager make some changes?

Pick your preferred XI here.

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Nicky Clark says St Johnstone "set the standard" required to avoid relegation from the Scottish Premiership in their 2-0 win over Aberdeen on Wednesday.

Clark opened the scoring at Pittodrie with a first-half penalty, before Benjamin Kimpioka's strike secured victory for Craig Levein's side.

The Perth side are now level on points with ninth-placed Aberdeen, four points ahead of Ross County in 11th.

"We were nowhere near good enough [against St Mirren], so tonight was massive for us," Clark said after the game. "The boys turned up and put on a good show.

"We have got really good footballers in there and we know that but there is no good just seeing that on paper, you need to go out when you cross the white line and perform.

"Too many times this season we have probably not done that, but we know how important it is now. It is a very tough league and we are in the situation we are in because we have not been performing well enough but tonight we have set the standard - we need to perform like that from now until the end of the season.

"It is massive, it is huge. I think that's us level on points with Aberdeen. The other guys around us in the league probably didn’t expect us to come up here and get a victory so that might hurt them a little bit, but we just need to concentrate on ourselves. There's another huge one on Saturday that we need to be ready for."

St Johnstone boss Craig Levein namechecked DJ Jaiyesimi and Benji Kimpioka for praise after the "complete" victory at Pittodrie. (The Courier)

Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.

Craig Levein reacts to St Johnstone's 2-0 win over Aberdeen.

That was more like it, St Johnstone fans. What do you want to ask our Sportscene pundit about the Saints?

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St Johnstone manager Craig Levein told BBC Sportsound: "Well done to my players. There was questions asked after the game at the weekend but they came up with all the right answers tonight.

"They're an honest bunch and last week was more than a blip for us, it was embarrassing at times. They recognised that and took the comments on board. They've gone out tonight and won the fight.

"He ran in behind constantly and worked extremely hard. Nicky's a clever player. They did well tonight but I can't single out those two. Some of the tackles and blocks, the goalkeeper's contribution, it was all very good.

"Hopefully this is us on a different path to the one it looked like we were on after the St Mirren game."