There was no win but St Johnstone signed off the best decade in the club’s history by completing the last month of it unbeaten.
Two wins and three draws, including this 1-1 against Ross County, have eased relegation worries and leave Saints in ninth, seven points ahead of bottom placed Hearts, going into 2020.
The point wasn’t the reward they deserved from this contest.
Tommy Wright’s men hadn’t been as dominant as this all season.
However, after Matty Kennedy hit the woodwork and missed two glorious chances, they were floored by an Iain Vigurs sucker-punch.
Floored but not knocked out, mind you.
Supersub Callum Hendry did his thing again and scored an 84th minute equaliser.
Squad rotation has been a theme of the festive period for Saints and so it continued with Kennedy, Jason Holt and Drey Wright all returning to the starting line-up.
For County there was one enforced change. Vigurs made his first start since September in place of the suspended Lewis Spence.
Saints started the match where they left off at Hamilton and nearly produced a carbon copy goal to the one that decided the contest in Lanarkshire.
This time it was Wright cutting the ball back for Ali McCann from the right. The key difference was that the young midfielder had a defender (Callum Morris) between him and the goal and his shot was blocked.
The hosts continued to press for an early opener and Kennedy would have been disappointed not to do better with a right foot shot from inside the box after cutting in from the left.
The sight of Wright skipping past his full-back was an encouraging one for Saints and in the 13th minute after leaving Sean Kelly in his wake he had time to lift his head and choose his best option. Unfortunately the execution of the cut-back didn’t match the run that preceded it and he couldn’t pick out McCann.
County had barely been seen as an attacking threat in the first half-hour and they weren’t helped by Ross Stewart injuring his hamstring and being replaced on 29 minutes by Brian Graham.
The ex-Saint nearly put the Staggies ahead four minutes later.
Jason Kerr was perfectly positioned at the near post to deal with a Josh Mullin cross but, after making a fresh air swipe at it, the centre-back did enough to make the finish awkward for Graham, who wasn’t expecting the ball to reach him.
On 37 minutes a deflected Wright cross arrived at Kennedy but he couldn’t keep his header on target from the penalty spot.
McCann said after the Hamilton game that he wanted to turn goalscoring into a habit after grabbing his first for Saints on Boxing Day and he had another effort two minutes after the re-start. His 20-yarder beat keeper Nathan Baxter but scraped past the far post.
The best chance of the game so far came on 51 minutes.
Wright floated a free-kick to the back post which was directed back into the danger area by Kerr for Kennedy who was virtually under the cross bar but couldn’t keep his header down.
The former Kilmarnock man was incredibly unlucky on the hour when he picked up a loose pass from Harry Paton in midfield, drove forward and let fly from 25 yards, only to see his fierce shot smack the cross bar full on.
Saints’ first substitution was made on 65 minutes and it was a predictable one – Hendry for Chris Kane.
The chances kept coming for Kennedy. He was found by Booth, with County exposed on a counter-attack, but he scuffed his left foot shot and it didn’t even reach the keeper.
Saints were made to pay for their wasted opportunities as on 73 minutes County took the lead.
Clark (wrongly) chose to stay on his line when Spittal crossed from the left, his defenders then failed to mop up and Billy McKay teed up Vigurs who steered the ball home off the post from about 12 yards out.
Earlier in the season this would undoubtedly have finished in defeat but Saints are a different team these days.
And, with six minutes left in the 90, Hendry bulleted home a near post header from a Kennedy cross.
They piled on the pressure for a winner and even had an indirect free-kick in the box after Baxter was penalised for time-wasting. Hendry couldn’t get it past the wall, though, and the match finished 1-1.
Before the final whistle Graham got a second yellow and was sent off.
St Johnstone – Clark, Ralston, Booth, Gordon, Kerr, McCann, Holt (May 74), Davidson, Wright (O’Halloran 83), Kennedy, Kane (Hendry 65). Subs not used – Parish, Duffy, Tanser, Craig.
Ross County – Baxter, Kelly, Fontaine, Morris (Watson 70), McKay (Chalmers 82), Vigurs, Mullin, Foster, Spittal, Paton, Stewart (Graham 29). Subs not used – Laidlaw, Fraser, Erwin, Henderson.
Referee – Bobby Madden.
Attendance – 2,658.
