ST JOHNSTONE have got their sights set on a European slot after securing their place in the top six with a hard fought 1-0 win over Dundee, according to manager Tommy Wright.
Brian Graham provided the only moment of quality in what was a very scrappy match. His beautifully curled effort in the 26th minute was enough for the three points as both sides struggled to create any clear cut opportunities.
Dundee will also be finishing in the top six this season, barring a miraculous couple of results for Kilmarnock. With Dundee United winning against Hamilton, Dundee are left in sixth position knowing that Kilmarnock will need to take six points from fixtures against Aberdeen and Celtic to overtake them.
St Johnstone will finish in the top six for the fourth year in a row, but Tommy Wright has got his eyes set on finishing in fourth position which could possibly see a return to Europe." The win was what we wanted because it keeps the pressure on Dundee United above us and that was what we wanted.
"Europe has to be the aim to keep the season alive. To be in there with the teams at the top end of the table is great and we deserve to be there."
The opening stages of the match were extremely scrappy and neither side was able to establish any sort of rhythm. St Johnstone had the best chance early on when a Simon Lappin cross caused confusion in the Dundee defence and the ball broke to Dave Mackay on the edge of the area but his shot was charged down and scrambled out for a corner.
The visitors came close to breaking the deadlock on 23 minutes through a St Johnstone player. Simon Lappin's challenge on David Clarkson sent the ball sailing back towards his own goal and he was extremely relieved to see Mannus tip the ball wide at full stretch.
The home side took the lead on 26 minutes when Michael O'Halloran dispossessed Simon Ferry in the middle of the park and fed the ball into the feet of Brain Graham who curled an exquisite shot into the bottom left-hand corner.
Saints began to dominate in the middle of the park and had a half chance to double their advantage on 38 minutes. Dundee struggled to clear the ball out of their penalty box and the ball broke to O'Halloran on the corner of the 6-yard box. He connected well with a left foot strike but it sailed harmlessly over the crossbar.
The best chance of the first-half for Dundee came a minute before the break when David Clarkson struck the post after Paul McGowan charged down a Frazer Wright clearance. Clarkson had a second bite at it as the ball rebounded kindly to him but he blazed over the top.
The pattern of play remained the same in the second half with both sides working extremely hard but finding it difficult to carve out chances. St Johnstone had a couple of sights at goal with Steven MacLean seeing his overhead kick cleared off the line and Brian Graham firing straight at Bain minutes later when he might have done better.
Dundee manager Paul Hartley brought on Heffernan, Harris and Wighton in his pursuit of an equaliser but his side looked physically tired after their midweek exertions and rarely threatened the St Johnstone goal.
Hartley admitted his side were far from their best but was delighted that they were on the verge of securing a top six spot: "I thought that they adapted better to the conditions than we did. I always thought that one goal would win it.
"We are nearly there. Kilmarnock have still got two games to play and we have still got one game. If we can get in there then it has been a fantastic season for us and as a group and as a club we have come so far in such a short space of time."
St Johnstone (4-4-2): Mannus; Mackay, Wright, Anderson, Easton (Scobbie, 88); Wotherspoon, Millar, Lappin, O'Halloran (Swanson, 83); Graham (Kane, 77), MacLean
Subs: Banks, Scobbie, Swanson, McFadden, Miller, Brown, Kane
Dundee (4-4-2): Bain; P. McGinn, Davidson, Konrad, Dyer ; Ferry (Heffernan, 68), McGowan, S. McGinn, McAlister (Harris, 78); Clarkson (Wighton, 64), Stewart
Subs: Letheren, Heffernan, Harris, Wighton, Godzhalov, Black, Colquhoun
Booked: Paul McGinn 86
Referee: Steven McLean
Man of the match: Brian Graham
Attendance: 6386
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