Levein side’s flaws again prove costly as play-off torture looms

It has all got very serious for St Johnstone at the bottom of the Premiership table.

There’s no shame in losing to Aberdeen at Pittodrie – even this season’s Aberdeen.

And Saints produced a pretty good first-half performance, certainly a big improvement on their displays against Kilmarnock and Hibs.

But the second half was dominated by their opponents and the cold, hard facts are that they remain a side low on confidence, toiling to create chances and are increasingly looking like the long-odds second favourite in a two-horse race.

ON THE WRIGHT TRACK

St Johnstone were the better team at the start of the game.

Their passing failures were glaring in the 3-1 loss to Hibs but they took care of the ball far more effectively in the opening stages of this contest.

Saints favoured their right over their left in possession.

And Drey Wright’s crisp and accurate exchanges with his central midfielders and forwards were a big part of Craig Levein’s team operating as a less disjointed unit.

He had the highest passing accuracy in the Saints team and the third highest of all 20 outfield starters.

There was no suggestion of Wright worrying about the robustness of his knee, albeit it took him a few minutes to run freely again after going into a challenge on the edge of the Aberdeen box at full stretch.

Too little of the season is left for him to get up to full speed and full attacking impact.

But he’s already shown that he’s the best bet for a wing-back system or a back four with wide midfielders.

If the worst comes to the worst, Wright operating at 75% of what he’s capable of is a dangerous player in a play-off against lower league full-backs.

His return as a St Johnstone starter may yet have occurred in the nick of time.

BRAIN FREEZE AGAIN

Hibs were more ruthless than Aberdeen in the manner in which they punished Saints but that shouldn’t disguise the fact that sloppy habits – of mind and body – remain.

You’d struggle to find two more alarming examples of the “free header” genre than one Stefan Gartenmann sent over the bar in the first half and another in the second period when Angus MacDonald was denied by a Nicky Clark goal-line clearance.

Two of the biggest men on the pitch being left in splendid isolation direct from a corner is as fundamental – and avoidable – a flaw as you can get.

Andy Considine bringing down Junior

Hoilett (who hit the bar with his 20-yard freekick) just before half-time was an understandable set-piece to concede but Dan Phillips being robbed of the ball was just plain daft, lazy or both.

Connor Smith putting his hand to Nicky Devlin’s back as he drove into the box was also unnecessary and, though I don’t think there was enough force to warrant the award of a penalty, it turned out to be the game-defining split-second error of judgment.

NOW OR NEVER

Saints won’t be going straight down. That has been mathematically put to bed with Motherwell’s defeat of Livingston.

But no Perth supporter is in the mood to celebrate.

They expect to be in the play-offs and, quite understandably, wouldn’t have great faith in their team winning them.

Ross County and St Johnstone have swapped places for the first time in months and all the topflight status-preserving momentum is with Don Cowie’s men.

But talk of what might happen in the play-offs, and Saints’ readiness or otherwise for the challenge a Championship side will present, can wait.

In the here and now, life is simple.

Livingston versus St Johnstone is the very definition of “must win” if any hopes of finishing 10th are to be retained.

If you can’t beat a freshly relegated team then you don’t deserve to be spared play-off torture.

From being the hunted, Saints are now the hunter.

And the mindset has to change as a consequence.

There’s a lot more to football than throwing off psychological shackles and giving it a real go.

But in Saints’ current plight it’s a very good place to start.

Craig Levein.