Analysis The numbers behind the result
Late drama masks ST Johnstone's control; visitors dominated but couldn't finish
A 1–1 draw flattered Dundee's second-half resilience but obscured ST Johnstone's sustained superiority. The visitors commanded 52% possession and fired 15 shots to Dundee's 10, with a decisive edge in shots on target: 3 to 2. ST Johnstone also won the corners battle 5–2, a structural advantage that translated into territory and box pressure. Dundee's compact 4–4–2 and deeper positioning allowed them to absorb pressure and hit on the counter, but the underlying pattern was clear: one side was creating and controlling, the other defending and reacting.
Charlie Reilly's 87th-minute finish gave Dundee an improbable lead after both teams had exchanged blows throughout. The hosts' two shots on target arrived at crucial moments, but ST Johnstone's three were the product of open play dominance. Josh Fowler's 90th-minute equaliser—assisted by Macaulay Tait—arrived with ST Johnstone still pressing; they registered 7 shots off target to Dundee's 6, indicating they were committing bodies forward even when not on target. Dundee's four goalkeeper saves versus ST Johnstone's two further illustrate how much of the match was contested in Dundee's half.
The decisive stat: ST Johnstone's 15 total shots to Dundee's 10, combined with their edge in on-target efforts, reveals a team that dominated the match architecturally but failed to convert supremacy into a win. Late substitutions from both benches—particularly Dundee's attacking changes at 64 and 77 minutes—created space for both goals, but ST Johnstone's inability to bury their chances until the very end cost them a deserved victory.