THOSE of us seeking green shoots and hope of sustenance for Scottish football in these trying times would, on the face of it, have best stayed away from the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Put plainly, it was an awful game of football.

In any case, from the perspective of our international future, pickings were thin. Just nine of Saturday's 22 starters were of Scottish birth, with a mere two of those wearing the colours of Inverness Caley Thistle.

On closer inspection, though, it was possible for the optimist to salvage something positive from this wreckage of a football match. In Saints ranks was Michael O'Halloran, a 24-year-old whose craft and ability surfaced in flashes above the stodgy, broken play. And in the home side, there was Ryan Christie, the 20-year-old Celtic-bound talent who, like O'Halloran, wasn't at his best but proved a stand-out almost by default.

While there is concern over just how Gordon Strachan can replenish Scotland in coming years, Christie and O'Halloran were a reminder that there are nuggets of promise out there domestically. O'Halloran, a past Scotland under 21 cap, has only recently been tipped by manager Tommy Wright to make the progression while Christie's capture on a four-year deal by Ronny Deila in late August underlines his potential.

Just how long Inverness will have the son of club legend Charlie in situ is of more pressing concern for the hosts, who were beaten by 10-man Saints from a last-gasp Liam Craig penalty. With Inverness down no fewer than nine injured first team players on Saturday, Christie was their only convincing performer in the forward areas.

Deila, the Celtic manager, has the option of taking the loanee south in the New Year, but may opt to prolong his first team apprenticeship in the Highlands. "I've had no word as to when they might want me to go down. I'll just have to wait and see," Christie said. "I'm happy either way. If I go down after Christmas, then great, but everyone has been saying it will do no harm for me to stay here in Inverness for the full season.

"I am playing with more confidence now and that partly comes from signing for Celtic but also with this being my second season playing first team football. "Last season was about gaining experience, but I look at myself now as a first team player, whatever my age.

"I need to perform week-in, week-out. I've been trying to get my consistency levels up and that's something I'm working hard on." Christie displays a healthy level-headedness off the park and is acutely aware of how much he must develop to thrive at Celtic.

He was critical of his and the team's display on Saturday, with Caley Thistle failing to take advantage of a Saints red card just after the break. Captain David Mackay walked for a straight-legged lunge into a 50-50 tackle with the hosts' Carl Tremarco.

"From the start, we were off pace and 10 minutes after the sending off, we just seemed to drop our tempo. Against 10 men you need to do the opposite, you need to speed it up," Christie acknowledged. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think we deserved to lose that game but that's what happens if you don't concentrate for the full 90 minutes.

"I got on the ball but I need to work on my end product. I was getting space and touches to drive at them, but maybe my final pass wasn't quite right. "I only really managed to play someone through once and that was Carl Tremarco in the first half.

"It is always difficult getting space against 10 men because they make it so compact, but that's something I need to work on and figure out how to get on the ball in those circumstances."

Disaster struck for the hosts after two minutes of stoppage time. Prior to that, neither side had created much of worth. As Liam Craig bounded into the penalty box, home defender Danny Devine brought him down clumsily and the substitute confidently tucked away the penalty himself.

Victory re-instated Saints in the top six and brought their first clean sheet of the season at the 15th attempt. For O'Halloran, those two outcomes were hugely positive, despite the unimpressive performance.

"It was a bit more like our usual selves because last season that's what we would pride ourselves on," the former Celtic youth said. "We did well to shut up shop and limit them, despite going down to 10 men. They had a lot of the ball but we nullified them.

"We're in the top six and that's always the aim for us. I think we're confident in the quality of player we've got in the dressing room. "We are underrated by a lot of people but we have been top six in the last four seasons, so it shows our consistency.

"Maybe it suits us that people don't expect as much of us as we do of ourselves. It suits us to just get on with our business. "The main thing is that we know how good we are as a team and what we're all about."