St Johnstone 0
Dundee 0
League (Premier League)

Match Report

This Tayside derby only just survived the fuel crisis, but the admission money would have been better spent on petrol for, to sum up quite simply, St Johnstone and Dundee contrived to serve up an absolute shocker.

So bad was the game that neither Sandy Clark nor Ivano Bonetti would manage to salvage much in consolation.

Perhaps Saints' Momo Sylla had enough natural ability to persuade you to forget even his numerous unforced errors.

At the back for the Perth team, Alan Kernaghan was his usual sturdy, dependable self, without ever looking like affecting the outcome, and young Keigan Parker came on during the second half to add youthful enthusiasm and pace to a dreadful affair.

For Dundee, Rab Douglas used his anticipation and height to make him a very difficult barrier to breach.

And Juan Sara was introduced to the game after the interval and added a little style to the Dens Parkers' play.

Player-manager Bonetti was a willing pair of hands as well, but never threatened to find the path that would open up the home defence.

Football has developed a sexy image over the last decade and much money is spent on its pursuit both live and on TV, but, yesterday, it was dressed up in flannel underpants.

Sylla started the match off and set the pattern with a crazy moment after four minutes when he tried to find Alan Main behind him, and almost passed the ball back into his own net.

Fabian Caballero then committed Darren Dods into back-pedalling inside Saints' penalty area in 13 minutes, but his right foot shot slipped just wide of the far post.

Steven Tweed then placed Douglas in a dangerous position with a sloppy pass-back in 25 minutes, but the big keeper was swiftly enough off his line to sweep up the danger.

Then, 15 minutes before the interval, Graeme Jones lifted the temperature for the home fans with a crisp right-foot drive from a near impossible angle, but, again, Douglas had both hands up to keep Dundee level.

Parker's enthusiasm lifted things St Johnstone's way in the 69th minute, but Douglas once more was an impressive blockade as he touched the final shot over after Paul Hartley's pass had created the chance.

There were a couple of floaters toward the end. Firstly, Caballero found himself in space on the right, but passed straight to Kernaghan instead of finding Sara at the far post in the 89th minute and, even later, Parker raced himself clean in on Douglas, but, once again, Craig Brown's third-choice keeper displayed enough awareness to race off his line and beat away the youngster's low drive.

Match report written by The Sunday Post