Date	Saturday, 17 September 2022
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Saint Johnstone 0:0 Ross County
Venue	McDiarmid Park
Attendance	3,355
Referee	Matthew MacDermid
Comments	Match Report Report by Thomas Duncan for the BBC. Saint Johnstone 0 Ross County 0 Ross County extended their unbeaten record against St Johnstone to four matches with a hard-fought Scottish Premiership draw at McDiarmid Park. Both sides hit the woodwork in a bright opening quarter, but toiled in the final third thereafter. Stevie May's hooked shot off a post was the closest the hosts came, with County's Kazeem Olaigbe side-footing against the bar three minutes later. The draw keeps St Johnstone two points ahead of County after seven games. Perth boss Callum Davidson fielded an attacking line-up, with natural attackers Adam Montgomery and Drey Wright starting at wing-back, and Jamie Murphy supporting Nicky Clark and Stevie May in attack. But they struggled for fluency around the box despite some neat build-up play. May's effort crashing off the far post after seven minutes wasn't bettered as the game went on, despite Andy Considine testing Ross Laidlaw from a corner, and Ali Crawford lashing over late on. Clark also appealed for a penalty in the closing stages as County goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw smothered a cross in front of him, but referee Matthew MacDermid was unmoved. Likewise, County showed plenty of intent through Olaigbe on the left wing and William Akio on the other side, with the pair fashioning the team's best attempt. Akio drove in from the right and had his effort blocked, and Olaigbie stroked the loose ball against the cross bar. But overall there were too many heavy touches and stray passes at crucial moments, which means County are still without an away win after four attempts in the Premiership. They have now lost just one of their last 12 games against St Johnstone. The stats said it all about the quality in the final third. St Johnstone had 15 shots, with only one hitting the target, which equals a shot accuracy rating of 6.7%. County had nine shots, hitting the target once for a shot accuracy of 11%. It was tough to watch. Malky Mackay's side have only managed four goals in their seven games, and St Johnstone's 3-0 win against St Mirren a fortnight ago was very much the exception for them, rather than the rule. Davidson looks to have assembled a good team with more attacking options than last season, but they missed Graham Carey's delivery and generally lack invention. County wingers Olaigbe and Akio were bright but often overran the ball and lacked the required composure to produce the crucial pass, cross, or shot at the death. Both managers can take positives, but need more in front of goal. St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "Second half we didn't get into their final third as much as I'd like. It was a tough game all round. "Could I say I'm pleased with a point? I'm probably disappointed with the second-half performance." Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "I thought it was a hard-fought point away from home. "We tried to take the game to them especially in the second half and in the last five minutes we threw on a couple of substitutions to try to win the game. So I'm, reasonably happy with my team today."
Ross County
Manager	Malcolm (Malky) Mackay
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 3: Ben Purrington, 4: David Cancola 1, 5: Jack Baldwin, 6: Alexander Iacovitti, 8: Ross Callachan, 15: Keith Watson, 17: Kazeem Olaigbe 1, 18: William Akio, 22: Jordon Tillson, 26: Jordan White
Bench	31: Jake Eastwood, 8: Owura Edwards, 9: Dominic Samuel, 10: Yan Dhanda, 11: Joshua Sims, 14: Victor Loturi, 19: Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila, 24: Benjamin Paton, 30: Dylan Smith
Saint Johnstone
Manager	Callum Davidson
Starting 11	Remi Matthews, Drey Wright 1, Ryan McGowan 1, Alex Mitchell, Liam Gordon 1, Andrew Considine, Adam Montgomery, Melker Hallberg 1, Jamie Murray, Stevie May, Nicky Clark
Bench	Elliott Parish, Theo Bair, Ali Crawford, Michael O'Halloran, Maksym Kucheriavyi, Murray Davidson, James Brown, Connor McLennan, John Moreland