Ross County draw a blank in Perth but show defensive solidity away to St Johnstone
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
St Johnstone (0) 0
Ross County (0) 0
Malky Mackay had called during the week for more of his players to make themselves undroppable.
The Ross County defence and spine of the team, particularly goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw and their twin centre halves Jack Baldwin and Alex Iacovitti, continue to do that.
Sadly for the three thousand plus supporters present in Perth for this lower table battle, neither side really ignited in an attacking sense in a hard-fought encounter at McDiarmid Park. Few of the Staggies’ forward-thinking players have so far been able to answer Mackay's call, but there are seeds of encouragement.
There was no shortage of honest endeavour in this scoreless draw, but a dearth of quality where it mattered on the day.
County mustered two attempts on target and a clutch of half-chances, but were crying out for a spark of inspiration in the final third against an equally solid Saints rearguard.
The point may prove a decent one come the end of the season and, certainly, should County continue to prove extremely difficult to break down.
The spine of the team is very solid, from Ross Laidlaw in goal through the defence to the deep-lying midfielders.
But, for now, better is needed from their attack-minded performers.
The Staggies featured three changes from their previous outing, the draw at home to Aberdeen two weeks before.
Injured Callum Johnson dropped out, with club captain Keith Watson slotting in at right back.
Attacking wide men William Akio and Kazeem Olaigbe earned starts with Yan Dhanda and Jordy Hiwula.
After a minute’s applause in memory of Her Majesty the Queen, both slides hit the woodwork in a lively start to the contest.
Melker Hallberg flighted a ball over the top after six minutes, before Drey Wright fed Stevie May at the edge of the penalty box.
May arced an attempt high past Ross Laidlaw but saw it strike the left hand post and rebound into the goalkeeper.
Three minutes later, it was County’s turn to come agonisingly close to opening the scoring as Kazeem Olaigbe’s strike from inside the Saints penalty area rebounded off the underside of the bar to safety.
Olaigbe was looking sharp in the early part of the game and drew a save from keeper Matthews after 19 minutes.
But again it was Saints who came close to breaking the deadlock on the half hour, with Laidlaw deserving huge credit for keeping out a close-range Andrew Considine attempt from Hallberg’s corner.
County opened the second period brightly, forcing a series of defensive blocks as the home rearguard stood strong.
Better from County approaching the hour mark saw David Cancola’s decent attempt draw a save from Matthews from outside the area.
Saints retaliated with a sweeping break ending with Adam Montgomery’s cut-back from the left fired wastefully wide by Jamie Murphy in a great position square on goal.
Staggies boss Malky Mackay made a triple change after 66 minutes with Yan Dhanda, Owura Edwards and Victor Loturi replacing Cancola, Olaigbe and Watson.
Those and further changes failed to ignite the visitors in an attacking sense and it remained anyone’s game entering the final 15 minutes, with Saints enjoying the slight edge.
Entering stoppage time, Mackay’s men forced a couple of corners, but it was a day when defences remained on top.
St Johnstone (3-4-1-2) - Matthews; Mitchell, Gordon, Considine; Wright, McGowan (Davidson 76), Hallberg, Montgomery; Murphy (Crawford 68); Clark, May (McLennan 76). Subs: Parish, Bair, O’Halloran, Kucheriavyi, Brown, Moreland.
Booked: MacGowan 23, Davidson 84, Hallberg 90, Gordon 90
Ross County (4-2-3-1) - Laidlaw; Watson (Loturi 66), Baldwin, Iacovitti, Purrington; Tillson (Samuel 76), Cancola (Dhanda 66); Akio (Hiwula 89), Callachan, Olaigbe (Edwards 66); White. Subs: Eastwood, Sims, Paton, Smith.
Booked: Watson 51, Olaigbe 65
Referee: Matthew MacDermid
Attendance 3355
