ST JOHNSTONE remain locked out of the top six.
Yesterday brought an opportunity for them to break into the top half of the league only for the Perth side to prove unable to unpick a stubborn Kilmarnock defence and be left instead to make do with the insubstantial bounty of a goalless draw and a solitary league point.
On a dour Perthshire afternoon marked by persistent rain and intermittent football, one can reflect on few bright spells for either side. Michael O'Halloran was responsible for many of the positives engineered by the home side; a player who continues to move freely around a pitch despite the burden on his shoulders. The 24-year-old has had the role of dynamic attacker in this St Johnstone side bestowed upon him following the departure to England of Stevie May early in the season.
Stationed out on the left yesterday he treated his stated position as more of a suggestion, twice drifting inside to arrive on the end of flicks from Steven MacLean during the first half. O'Halloran first darted in front of Darryl Westlake who could only flatten the St Johnstone forward on the edge of the penalty area, then clipped a shot at goal from a similar chance which was scooped away by goalkeeper Craig Samson.
There were chances too for Steven MacLean, who was crowded out when he teed up a shot from the edge of the box during the first half and had another effort blocked on the line late on, and Chris Kane. Brian Easton and David Wotherspoon also each had shots deflected wide of a post in the second half.
"We've got to be happy enough with the performance and how we played," said St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright, whose side remain two points behind sixth-place Dundee. "In the end the result is a little disappointing. St Johnstone had to defend quite a lot and defend well as we had 12 or 13 corners in the game."
Such moments are the cause of irritation for a manager, the sort which will be scratched repeatedly during training. This practice awaits Gary Locke this week as he continues in an interim role in charge of Kilmarnock following Allan Johnston's abrupt exit last month despite the Ayrshire side settled just outside the top six in the league table.
Locke has spoken diplomatically of the Kilmarnock players having tried their hardest under his predecessor but will remain quietly satisfied that they have produced more encouraging form during his nascent tenure. He has now taken charge of four matches and has still to suffer a defeat - the side had lost four of their final five matches under Johnston - and yesterday orchestrated only Kilmarnock's second clean sheet in the league since December.
He might also have celebrated his second victory since assuming the manager's job on an interim basis but for an instance of wayward finishing more often reserved for the half-time 10-second shoot-out. Chris Johnston, Nathan Eccleston, Craig Slater and Josh Magennis all lined up to have a go at putting Kilmarnock ahead as the visitors poured forward after 81 minutes only for each of them to be thwarted by the hands of goalkeeper Alan Mannus and the bahookie of substitute Tam Scobbie.
Eccleston can perhaps be judged most harshly since the striker had taken a moment to set himself before delivering a low shot which Scobbie was able to deflect. "You are hoping the net will bulge but you have to credit the opposition - they are throwing their bodies in the way," said Locke.
"It was a difficult day and we were unable to play pretty football with the conditions but we can be happy with the effort and desire shown by the players. It's a good point."
The Kilmarnock interim manager was able to remain magnanimous only as his side remained similarly resolute, with Samson repelling a low shot from substitute Danny Swanson during a frenetic period of stoppage time and flopping on top of the loose ball before O'Halloran could prod in.
"We didn't make enough of the opportunities we had. The result is a bit of a disappointment," Wright added. A draw had robbed him of any further satisfaction.
St Johnstone (4-4-2): Mannus; Mackay, Anderson, Wright (Scobbie 75), Easton; Wotherspoon, Davidson, Millar, O'Halloran; Kane (Graham 63), MacLean (Swanson 90) Subs not used: Banks, McFadden, Miller, Croft
Booked: Mackay 31 Kane 33 Easton 44 Anderson 85
Kilmarnock (4-4-2): Samson; Westlake, Ashcroft, Pascali, Chantler; Johnston, O'Hara, Slater, Obadeyi (Eremenko 77); Magennis, Eccleston Subs not used: Brennan, Barbour, Miller, Smith, Kiltie, Syme
Booked: Westlake 15 Johnston 51
Referee: Euan Anderson Att: 3170
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