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Motherwell and St Johnstone each had a man sent off as the points were shared in an exciting match at Fir Park.

Stevie Hammell was red carded for conceding a second-half penalty but home keeper Darren Randolph saved Dave MacKay's weak effort.

Murray Davidson headed Saints in front from Liam Craig's corner on 58 minutes.

Bob McHugh levelled with a scuffed shot 20 minutes later and, with Rowan Vine shown red for a second booking, Motherwell ended the game on top.

Most of the action came in the second half, but Callum Davidson almost put St Johnstone ahead inside three minutes, albeit in rather fortuitous circumstances.

He sliced in a cross from the left, which came off Randolph's crossbar, with the keeper fumbling the ball on the way down, but fortunately for him it was hacked to safety.

Motherwell looked sharp in the early stages, despite having returned from an arduous Champions League qualifying loss to Panathinaikos in the searing Athens heat only 60 hours previously.

Jamie Murphy should have put the hosts in front midway through the first half, but his lob from the edge of the penalty area was wayward.

The open, end-to-end nature of the match continued into the second half, but it was the visitors creating the better opportunities.

Chris Millar flashed a shot just wide from the edge of the box before Craig had an effort from similar distance charged down.

From that latter effort, though, the ball broke back to Craig, who found Millar inside the box with a cute lob and when the midfielder went down under Hammell's challenge, referee Iain Brines pointed to the spot and ordered the Motherwell full-back off.

Mackay stroked the penalty towards Randolph's bottom-left corner, but the keeper did brilliantly to keep it out.

The 10 men couldn't keep St Johnstone out for long though. A typically vicious inswinging corner from Craig was deftly glanced in by Davidson at Randolph's near post.

With that turn of events, a depleted Motherwell seemed to tire as they struggled to find an opening and Saints looked dangerous on the break.

But in a rare attack, Stuart McCall's side manufactured an equaliser - Nicky Law picking up the ball on the right and cutting it back for McHugh, whose mis-hit shot found its way past Alan Mannus.

Parity was also restored in terms of personnel with 10 minutes left, as Vine picked up a second yellow card for a late challenge on Shaun Hutchinson.

Motherwell finished strongly and Saints keeper Mannus made a great twisiting save to keep out a header from Michael Higdon.

Hutchinson must have thought he'd won it for the home side at the death but, following a six-yard box scramble, his shot was somehow diverted over the crossbar and both sides had to settle for a point.

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