St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright felt his side should have won against Kilmarnock after the teams played out a 0-0 draw at McDiarmid Park.
Last season’s Scottish Cup winners could have returned to the Scottish Premiership top six with a victory but they failed to take full advantage of Dundee’s defeat to Ross County and remain seventh in the table following the goalless encounter.
St Johnstone had more of the ball and territory for much of the match, although both sides struggled to create clear goalscoring opportunities on a wet Saturday afternoon in Perth.
“I thought it was a game we should have won,” said Wright.
“We dominated possession and particularly in the first half played quite well. Overall I think we deserved a win but we didn’t really make the most of the opportunities we had.
“I have got to be happy enough with the performance and how we played but the result is a little bit disappointing to be honest.
“Our play in the final third let us down a little bit. We didn’t get balls into the box early enough. By the same token we made far too many mistakes at the other end, individual errors that caused us problems.
“If a game is 0-0 then defences and goalkeepers usually have to play well or it is people at the other end not doing their jobs. Kilmarnock had to defend quite a lot and they defended well because I think we had 12 or 13 corners during the game.”
Kilmarnock boss Gary Locke was thrilled with the way his side secured a clean sheet and a point at what has been a difficult venue for many Scottish Premiership sides this season.
The draw means the eighth-placed visitors remain in the hunt for a top-six finish as they are now just five points adrift of Dundee with a game in hand.
“I was delighted with the performance,” Locke said.
“It was a difficult day to play football with the conditions. Both myself and Tommy Wright like our teams to play but sometimes you have got to look at the conditions and think it is not a day to play pretty football.
“In terms of the team’s work rate, effort and commitment I could not be happier and I am delighted to get a clean sheet at a difficult place. It was a good point and we had chances ourselves.”