It was a source of frustration for player and manager at the time.
But on reflection, the shot Stevie May dragged past the post at Motherwell was an encouraging sign that he is on his way back to becoming the St Johnstone centre-forward Callum Davidson wants him to be.
May has yet to start a game this season but made a telling impact off the bench to clinch a crucial 1-0 victory against St Mirren before the international break.
And he came agonisingly close to salvaging a point at Fir Park on Saturday when he latched onto a Ricki Lamie mistake.
Short-term, it proved to be Saints’ last chance to avoid an undeserved defeat but long-term, the run in behind the full-back and the instinctive first-time shot augur well.
“Stevie is one of our main strikers and we want him to start banging the goals in again,” said Davidson.
“We’ve had to get him up to speed because he’s had a few niggles and it’s about managing him the best we can so we get the most out of him for the whole season.
“It’s been a case of assessing and evaluating where he is and Stevie has bought into that.
“In the last few weeks I have seen him get sharper and stronger, so he’s getting to where we want him to be.
“He’s definitely built it up in the last couple of weeks.
“He had a good chance on Saturday and you could criticise him for missing, but from my point of view I’m delighted he’s getting into those positions.
“If you get Mayzo into situations like that he’ll score more often than not, so it will come.”
May, and the other Saints strikers, are being schooled by a Perth legend on the training ground.
Davidson said: “Stevie’s adapted his game a bit more now. He’s been working hard with Steven MacLean trying to improve.
“Macca knows the position so he’s a big help on that front and the work they’re doing will pay off.
“We are doing loads of drills encouraging him to get into the box, in behind defenders with that sight of goal.”
Saints face Ross County at McDiarmid Park this weekend.
The Dingwall side will have to try and combat a new brand of football Davidson has embedded in his team but the same is true in reverse, according to the Perth boss.
“Ross County are a good side,” he said. “We have watched a lot of them this season and they’ve changed their style a bit from last year.
“Against Celtic they created a lot of chances and were disappointed they didn’t get a goal.
“So we know it’s going to be difficult against them when they come here on Saturday.
“From our point of view, like I’ve been saying, getting the first goal is really important for us.
“We need to give ourselves a better chance of picking up full points by getting the opening goal.”
Meanwhile, Saints have an interest in snapping up free agent midfielder Craig Bryson.
The 33-year-old was released by Aberdeen after failing to make an impact at Pittodrie, chiefly as a result of injuries.
Contact has been made with the former Derby County man’s agent but Bryson has other options, as do Saints.
St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson knows where he wants to strengthen but budget is ‘tight’
