In a sense, St Johnstone were unlucky to lose narrowly to Aberdeen.
After all, it took a stunning, 25-yard free kick by the Dons’ Liverpool loanee Leighton Clarkson to secure all three points for the Granite City men.
But while Saints looked solid enough at the back throughout, a painful lack of attacking impetus meant their scoring chances were few and far between.
Here are Courier Sport’s talking points as Callum Davidson’s side fell to 10th place in the Premiership.
That’s (not) entertainment
Supporters go to football matches hoping to enjoy themselves.
Unfortunately, there was precious little for Saints fans to relish about their side as an attacking force against Aberdeen.
And it wasn’t a one-off.
St Johnstone have never been free-scoring side in the top flight, where being hard to beat has been the foundation of their success.
But a lack of goals at McDiarmid Park has become a serious issue under Callum Davidson.
St Johnstone have played 40 home league games under Callum Davidson. Failed to score in 20 of them (50%), scoring more than once only 3 times and only 24 goals in total, a goal every 150 minutes.
— St Johnstone 1884 (@stjohnstone1884) August 20, 2022
Saints’ struggle to create was on clear display against the Dons, whose keeper was only tested twice in 90 minutes, once in each half.
Crosses into the box from open play saw Theo Bair outnumbered and outmuscled, while the quality of set-pieces was poor.
Callum Davidson’s preferred back five when out of possession lends his St Johnstone side strength in numbers in defence, but it also leaves them short-handed higher up the pitch when the ball is turned over, with wing-backs typically starting forward runs from punishingly deep positions.
As a result, Saints are too often sluggish on the break and, ultimately, toothless in attack.
That’s a tactical problem Callum Davidson must fix or risk losing the backing of fans, increasingly starved of entertainment.
A side with backbone?
People love to talk about football teams having a strong “spine”.
The thinking is, if an XI is solid through the centre of the pitch, from back to front, the foundation for everything else around it is set.
In Remi Matthews, Alex Mitchell and Daniel Phillips, there’s no doubting Saints have serious strength in central positions.
Phillips was handed his first start against Aberdeen and, while his decision-making at times raised eyebrows, his strength and ability to shield the ball and turn opponents was clear.
Up top however, Saints lack presence.
Theo Bair’s size means he should be a handful for defenders – and he needs to be to have any chance of success in possession given how isolated he finds himself.
But it looks like back-to-goal link-up play isn’t really his game.
Without somebody to fulfil that role, Saints’ spine will continue to look somewhat stunted.
Murphy the bright spark
There is a long way still to go this season.
But at this early stage, Jamie Murphy is looking increasingly like the best piece of business St Johnstone have done this summer.
He, above all others, was the player who gave Aberdeen’s defenders problems to solve at McDiarmid Park.
His willingness to carry the ball forward, to run at defenders and to have a pop at goal were a ray of light in the gloom of Saints’ weak attacking play.
His late, jinking run and vicious shot deserved a goal, but Kelle Roos in the Dons goal pulled off a terrific stop.
Getting him on the ball quicker and in dangerous positions can only be a good thing.
Once again, it’s a tactical conundrum Callum Davidson should look to solve
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