St Johnstone 1-1 Livingston: Martindale’s men six adrift

Livingston’s Scottish Premiership survival hopes were dealt another blow as Nicky Clark’s late header snatched a “big point” for relegation rivals St Johnstone.

McDiarmid Park was busier than usual – such was the importance of this basement battle – but the home crowd were left frustrated until Clark popped up to nod home.

Having lost to fellow strugglers Ross County and Motherwell already this week, the draw leaves Livingston six points adrift at the bottom, while St Johnstone go above Aberdeen into ninth.

“They would have been as well not even using the ball today, just fighting – It was just a scrap,” St Johnstone manager Craig Levein said.

“It’s a big point for us. “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.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this meeting of relegation rivals started off scrappily as neither side could gain a foothold.

That changed with Shinnie’s fine finish as Livingston scored for their fourth consecutive league game, proving this side are capable of showing attacking thrust in their fight for survival.

Their biggest issue remains in defence, but the rearguard was untroubled by a St Johnstone side that failed to register a single shot in the first period – spending more time on the deck for various bumps and bruises that led to 10 minutes of added time.

The hosts may have found reprieve when VAR investigated two possible handball incidents from Mikey Devlin. While the second was mistakenly kicked up on to his own hand, the first looked far more careless as his arm flailed at a Luke Robinson cross.

Levein had called for his side to replicate the energy and desire on show in their midweek win at Pittodrie. It seemed as though they left those qualities behind in Aberdeen for much of the afternoon.

Dan MacKay’s piledriver from the edge of the box and Kurtis Guthrie’s surging breakaway could have allowed for a degree of calm in a travelling support that has had little to shout about for much of the campaign.

A film they had seen before rolled once again when a rare defensive breach went punished by veteran Clark and all their hard work was undone in an instant.

Tete Yengi had the opportunity to build on his cult hero status in West Lothian as he broke through at the death. In a moment that summed up his side’s season, there was plenty of desire, but a lack of quality to pick the pass leaves Livingston languishing.

Player of the match – Michael Nottingham (Livingston)

How long until the bell tolls? – analysis

This looked to be a season-defining week for Livingston as they faced three encounters with teams that could feasibly be hunted down in their efforts to pull off the great escape.

Highland heartbreak at Ross County was followed by defeat at home to Motherwell after taking the lead. With 10 games to go before today, it felt like their meeting at McDiarmid had an air of now or never.

And that’s how they played for much of the 110 minutes or so in Perth. Charging around and defending with confidence had them on track for a huge win, especially considering Ross County’s defeat at Hibernian.

Yet again, Livingston’s backline couldn’t hold on until the final whistle and the heads dropped lower than perhaps they ever have in this season of sucker punch after sucker punch.

They may yet stumble off the canvas, but as the clock ticks down, the knockout blow seems increasingly inevitable.

St Johnstone, on the other hand, will wonder how they escaped with anything after a poor performance in Perth.

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 their top priority is staying afloat and avoiding the play-off place.

What they said

St Johnstone manager Craig Levein: “Both teams are fighting for their survival, it’s not surprising it was a competitive match 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.”

Livingston manager David Martindale: “I’d have taken a point before the game. We’re a point closer to Ross County. We’re a point closer to where we were a 3 o’clock today.

“I think their fighting spirit has always been there. I think you can tell they’re doing everything they can to stay in the Premiership. They’re all in there gutted.”

What’s next?

In a calendar quirk, both sides’ next game is at Celtic Park. Livingston travel to Glasgow in the Scottish Cup quarter-final next Sunday (16:30 GMT), while St Johnstone visit the champions on Saturday, 16 March (15:00).