St Johnstone 1 Aberdeen 0: Saints set for play-off as victory sends Dundee down

Callum Hendry’s clinical first half finish provided St Johnstone with a much-needed dose of positivity.

And this three point haul in Perth also confirmed Dundee’s automatic relegation to the Scottish Championship.

But Saints are in a battle of their own and, despite having one league game left, will finish the season in 11th place.

That means an upcoming play-off against the winner of Arbroath and Inverness to remain in the top-flight.

The midweek victory over the Dons will have provided a lift and, hopefully, the required momentum for performances to head in the right direction.

Before kick-off, there was a fair amount of confusion about the line-up.

Initially, Ali Crawford was named in the starting team but he was nowhere to be seen during the warm-up.

It appeared Cammy MacPherson was limbering up with the first 11.

But, in the end, it was Jacob Butterfield, initially listed as a sub, who was given the nod in the middle of the park.

MacPherson was on the bench. Still following? Understandable if not.

To make clear, Saints went with Zander Clark, Dan Cleary, Liam Gordon, Jamie McCart, Shaun Rooney, James Brown, Melker Hallberg, Murray Davidson, Butterfield, Hendry and Glenn Middleton.

The latter had earned a rare start - certainly in recent times - and went closest to finding an opener.

His 14th minute left-footed long-ranger was not a million miles away from finding the bottom corner.

He would turn architect shortly after, latching onto a short Hallberg pass down the right flank before cutting the ball back into the box.

On the move was Hendry, whose clipped first-time finish was beautifully crafted beyond goalkeeper Joe Lewis with 17 minutes played.

It was the kind of link-up that has been absent in the forward