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Liam Gordon's header means St Johnstone cannot finish in the bottom twoSt Johnstone secured their Scottish Premiership survival after a narrow win against 10-man Kilmarnock, whose own troubles worsened.
Liam Gordon's first-half header puts the Perth side on 39 points, eight clear of bottom club Dundee United with two games left, five in front of Kilmarnock and a further point clear of Ross County.
That means Steven MacLean's men, who sit ninth, can only be caught by one of the three sides below them.
Kilmarnock, meanwhile, stay 10th as their fight for survival continues.
Derek McInnes' side hit the woodwork twice after going behind, but then David Watson's red card for a reckless challenge just before the break gave them a mountain to climb.
They stay three ahead of United, who they face on Wednesday in what promises to be an incredibly tense contest, and one in front of County in the play-off spot.
Graham Carey and Zak Rudden passed up St Johnstone's best chances to make things more comfortable, but in the end they clinched safety after making it impossible for two sides to catch them.
It is some feat for interim manager MacLean in his first job, who inherited a side in freefall after a run of two wins in 16 games.
Captain Gordon has scored the winner in both those victories, and his desire to get his head on the ball in front of Joe Wright proved pivotal for his side early on at Rugby Park.
Kilmarnock only really have themselves to blame, as Wright's poor marking and Christian Doidge's missed clearance led to the goal, and then talented teenager Watson was reckless in flying in on Cammy Ballantyne.
Before that, they were profligate too, with Watson unable to turn in from close range after Luke Chambers' shot deflected off the post and across the face of goal, and Donnelly's shot skipped off a post too.
McInnes' side gave everything in a frantic second half, but were unable to capitalise on their strong home form and get back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
More to follow.
Line-ups
Kilmarnock
Formation 3-5-2
- 20Walker
- 2Mayo
- 19Wright
- 3DorsettSubstituted forLyonsat 62'minutes
- 11Armstrong
- 34WatsonBooked at 44mins
- 24Chambers
- 22DonnellySubstituted forPowerat 49'minutes
- 7McKenzieSubstituted forJonesat 78'minutes
- 26DoidgeBooked at 47minsSubstituted forCameronat 78'minutes
- 23Vassell
Substitutes
- 1Hemming
- 4Power
- 8Alston
- 10Jones
- 14Sanders
- 16Robinson
- 17Lyons
- 27Cameron
- 31Polworth
St Johnstone
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1MatthewsBooked at 72mins
- 2Brown
- 6Gordon
- 4Considine
- 19MontgomeryBooked at 71mins
- 13McGowan
- 14Wright
- 18MacPherson
- 25BallantyneBooked at 29minsSubstituted forWotherspoonat 87'minutes
- 23Carey
- 7MaySubstituted forRuddenat 76'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Gallacher
- 5Mitchell
- 9Kane
- 10Wotherspoon
- 16Rudden
- 17Bair
- 20Sinclair
- 26McLennan
- 29Murphy
Referee:John Beaton
Attendance:6,004
Live Text
Match ends, Kilmarnock 0, St. Johnstone 1.
Second Half ends, Kilmarnock 0, St. Johnstone 1.
Attempt blocked. Innes Cameron (Kilmarnock) header from very close range is blocked. Assisted by Daniel Armstrong with a cross.
Corner, Kilmarnock. Conceded by Adam Montgomery.
Alan Power (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone).
Attempt blocked. Zak Rudden (St. Johnstone) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Graham Carey.
Attempt missed. Zak Rudden (St. Johnstone) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Graham Carey with a headed pass.
Attempt missed. Graham Carey (St. Johnstone) left footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the left.
Foul by Brad Lyons (Kilmarnock).
Adam Montgomery (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Offside, St. Johnstone. David Wotherspoon tries a through ball, but Zak Rudden is caught offside.
Corner, St. Johnstone. Conceded by Joe Wright.
Substitution, St. Johnstone. David Wotherspoon replaces Cammy Ballantyne II.
Corner, St. Johnstone. Conceded by Joe Wright.
Attempt missed. Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Kyle Vassell.
Joe Wright (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Zak Rudden (St. Johnstone).
Attempt saved. Cameron MacPherson (St. Johnstone) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Drey Wright.
Attempt saved. Cammy Ballantyne II (St. Johnstone) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Graham Carey.
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Kilmarnock
Squad number20Player nameWalker
Squad number2Player nameMayo
Squad number19Player nameWright
Squad number3Player nameDorsett
Squad number11Player nameArmstrong
Squad number34Player nameWatson
Squad number24Player nameChambers
Squad number22Player nameDonnelly
Squad number7Player nameMcKenzie
Squad number26Player nameDoidge
Squad number23Player nameVassell
Squad number4Player namePower
Squad number10Player nameJones
Squad number17Player nameLyons
Squad number27Player nameCameron
St Johnstone
Squad number1Player nameMatthews
Squad number2Player nameBrown
Squad number6Player nameGordon
Squad number4Player nameConsidine
Squad number19Player nameMontgomery
Squad number13Player nameMcGowan
Squad number14Player nameWright
Squad number18Player nameMacPherson
Squad number25Player nameCammy Ballantyne II
Squad number23Player nameCarey
Squad number7Player nameMay
Squad number10Player nameWotherspoon
Squad number16Player nameRudden
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