St Johnstone: Mannus; Mackay, Anderson, Wright, Scobbie; Millar, Craig; Tade (Hasselbaink 58), Abeid (Edwards 42), Vine (Cregg 87); MacLean Subs not used: Tuffey, Cregg, Hasselbaink, Edwards, Doughty, McCracken, Miller Booked: Millar 61 Inverness CT: Reguero; Raven, Meekings, Devine, Taylor; Tudor-Jones (A Shinnie 80), Draper; Doran, Foran, G Shinnie; McKay (Ross 65) Subs not used: Matheson, Ross, Polworth, Hogg, A Shinnie, Sutherland, Pepper Booked: Devine 6, Taylor 27, G Shinnie 69 Sent off: Raven 12.

Referee: C Thomson Att: 2368

REFEREE Craig Thomson's quixotic interpretation of a clear goalscoring opportunity only served to further obscure the identity of Scotland's final remaining Europa League qualifier.

Terry Butcher usually cuts a jovial post-match presence, but he had a face like thunder yesterday when he reflected upon the incident where David Raven was sent off for tripping Rowan Vine fully 30 yards out with the ball travelling at an angle away from the goal and a defender sprinting back to provide cover.

It all meant Inverness seeing out the remaining 78 minutes of the match short-handed, and when their heroic rearguard effort was undone by a late Steven MacLean header, it left an intriguing menage a trois at the top end of the table with just two points separating them from both yesterday's opponents St Johnstone and their Highland rivals Ross County, who Inverness face in Dingwall on the last day of the season.

"I have had one look at it and I will have another look at it to see if we want to appeal or not," said Butcher, who had to be spoken to by referee Thomson during the first half.

"I think it was very, very harsh. He [Vine] didn't have control of the ball, the ball is running out towards the touchline, not through the middle.

"If they are saying that was a clear goalscoring opportunity then I can't see that. But my boys were terrific in terms of attitude and togetherness and if we show that in the next three games we still have an excellent chance of finishing third."

While Inverness's destiny will be shaped by a hat-trick of matches in the Highlands, St Johnstone face tricky away matches at both Dundee United and Celtic if they are to grace continental football for the second successive season.

"It was great heart from the boys because it is always difficult against ten men, particularly out there on a surface like that," said Steve Lomas.

"We have some very tough away games and we are probably going to have to pick up at least one result if we are to take it down to the last game. But we are in there fighting."

With William Hill Scottish Cup finalists Hibs having clinched a place, and Motherwell looking secure, the race for the final Europa spot is heating up, even if you might not have guessed it from a sparsely-attended McDiarmid Park yesterday.

Only 2,368 souls made it along, St Johnstone's second-lowest league gate of the campaign, but the sleepy surroundings saw a feisty little encounter.

On a bare pitch, Inverness had kept Birmingham-bound Andrew Shinnie in reserve, ostensibly due to a hamstring problem.

The match was 12 minutes in when the main talking point arrived, a poor clearance from Antonio Reguero playing his side into difficulty in the first place.

The decision was borderline at best, but the goalkeeper seemed desperate to atone. The soon-to-depart Spaniard blocked from Mehdi Abeid then tipped a Vine effort round a post. He got away with a couple too, first when Tade's close range finish struck a post, then when an Abeid piledriver rattled the bar.

But Abeid limped off as half-time approached and St Johnstone's threat waned as a result. Reguero palmed away a Liam Craig free-kick, but it wasn't until the arrival of Nigel Hasselbaink from the bench that the home side really perked up.

The Dutchman wriggled past Josh Meekings and Nick Ross, and MacLean wrongfooted Reguero to keep the issue of European qualification bubbling away.