ST JOHNSTONE rarely sparkled but still did enough to stretch their unbeaten run to 18 league games, just one short of the club record set in 1963.
Trinidad and Tobago international Collin Samuel was the difference between the two teams at McDiarmid Park, hitting the only goal of the match after being on the pitch for just a couple of minutes following a masterly substitution by manager Derek
McInnes.
Saints were never at their best but that one strike proved enough to cement their strong position at the top of the championship table and such is their level of consistency, the Perth men are going to take all the stopping in their relentless pursuit of a return to the Premier League.
The first half-chance fell to St Johnstone's Paul Sheerin after just a couple of minutes, but his left-foot volley from the left side of the box went several yards over goalkeeper Roddy McKenzie's crossbar.
Both sides were struggling to find any real rhythm on a difficult pitch, parts of which were decidedly threadbare, but Livingston came within an inch of opening the scoring when David Winter's clever chip bounced off the bar with Alan Main beaten.
In the 23rd minute, Livingston were again left cursing their bad luck as Tony McParland got himself into space and unleashed a terrific drive which looked destined for the corner of the net only to crack off the post.
St Johnstone might have started the game as hot favourites but they certainly knew the visitors had not come to Perth just to make up the numbers.
Saints suffered a blow 11 minutes before the break when Andy Jackson was carried off on a stretcher after falling to the turf with no one near him. Clutching his left ankle the unfortunate Jackson, who was taken to Perth Royal Infirmary during the interval with a suspected Achilles tendon injury, was replaced by Steven Milne, a reshuffle manager McInnes would not have reckoned with at this stage of the proceedings.
Jackson's departure was a further blow for a St Johnstone side who had performed poorly and without conviction given their status at the top of the league.
But if the local fans were hoping for a revival in the second period it was Livingston who once again threatened to break the deadlock with the dangerous figure of McParland cutting inside two defenders before knocking the ball over the top.
The same player then tried his luck with a curling free kick from 14 yards out but his effort flashed wide of the target.
St Johnstone badly needed something to happen for them and things looked promising as Gavin Swankie found himself with space inside the box but his shot on the turn was blocked by McKenzie before spinning away. For a match between the leading side in the league and the third-placed team this was one to forget and with the minutes ticking away the home supporters in the 2,752 crowd, in particular, were growing more and more frustrated.
Where a goal was going to come from was anyone's guess, such was the mediocre fare on display, and hardly surprisingly it was proving to be a quiet afternoon at the office for referee Brian Winter, although he was called into duty in the 65th minute, yellow-carding Livingston defender Cameron McDonald for a foul on Jody Morris.
Saints manager McInnes made his first unforced change of the match, bringing on Samuel for Swankie, and the switch paid off handsomely as a delightful move involving Chris Millar and Derek Holmes ended with Samuel rifling the ball into the net from six yards out.
While the locals celebrated it was a cruel blow for the visitors, who could easily have been leading had Lady Luck been on their side, and manager Paul Hegarty responded by replacing Armand One with Raffa De Vita.
It was a tough afternoon all right but you can only applaud McInnes and his players for stringing together such an impressive unbeaten sequence which now goes all the way back to August.
As for Livingston and their manager Paul Hegarty, this was a painful defeat and they are now nine points behind the trailblazers who also have the cushion of a game in hand. Had it not been for the woodwork it could have been a different story.
The full article contains 737 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
