St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson admits his side were missing a touch of lady luck as they were edged out by Rangers at Ibrox.
The runaway league leaders have dispatched every side they’ve met in the league this term at home so far and made it 13 from 13 with Ianis Hagi’s single goal the difference against Saints.
Davidson, though, insists his side can take plenty of heart from the showing from his team as they pushed for an equaliser late on with Craig Bryson going close in the second half.
'I don't think there's any intent, but it turns out to be a little bit reckless'
The Sportscene sofa review Kemar Roofe's challenge on Murray Davidson 👇#BBCSportscene pic.twitter.com/NlJENuY3c3
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) February 4, 2021
The big controversy in the first period was a tackle from Gers striker Kemar Roofe on Saints midfielder Murray Davidson that brought a yellow card from referee David Munro.
Television replays, however, showed the Rangers man was lucky not to see red with just 20 minutes on the clock.
Davidson said: “It was one of those where I don’t think there was any malice in the tackle but it doesn’t look great.
“TV pictures can slow it down and make it worse than it is.
“The only thing I am worried about is I’ve lost my player from the challenge. Not great.
“Murray is a concern with the cup final coming up, we’ll have to wait and see how he is.
“I don’t know if he needs a scan, I will know more in the morning.
“The decision didn’t quite go for us tonight. Certain things could have helped us out.
“You come to Ibrox against a top-class team and you need the decisions to go for you, that little bit of luck.
“I thought we had that when they missed a couple of good chances in the first half, I thought we might have an opportunity to get a result.
“All I can do is credit my players, I really enjoyed their spirit and resolve to get a result in the last 25 minutes.”
He added: “Once we went a goal down they showed a lot of fight and a lot of character. We maybe could have sneaked something in the end.
“The form we’ve been in recently has been very good. For me if we’d wilted I might have been worried but I think the last 25 minutes showed what the spirit is like in the dressing-room.
“It’s a positive for me. Ibrox is a tough place to come and Rangers see off most teams.
“They are a really good side playing with real confidence. It was a tough one not to get a result but we move on.
“They just cleared the ball in the last 10-15 minutes which is a compliment to us but we didn’t get the result.”
Davidson revealed midfielder David Wotherspoon was absent after turning his ankle against Kilmarnock but is likely to be fit to face Livingston on Saturday.
