St Johnstone's winless Scottish Premiership run extended to eight games after they were held to a goalless draw by Hamilton Academical in Perth.

Home goalkeeper Zander Clark denied Nathan Thomas from close-range before Stevie May squandered a free header for the hosts.

St Johnstone pushed for an opener in the second period, but failed to make their dominance count.

The point moves the hosts up to eighth, while Accies remain 11th.

The Perth side finish the year having picked up only four points from a possible 24. As for the visitors, the well-earned draw stretches their advantage on bottom side Ross County to two points.

However, County will have the chance to reduce the gap when they face Hibernian at Easter Road later on Wednesday.

The visitors were almost rewarded for a positive start when Thomas did well to skip his way into the St Johnstone box before being denied by a smart stop from Clark at close range.

Thomas was proving to be a threat as he then guided a dangerous cross into the area towards David Moyo, but he could not divert his header on target.

The hosts responded well as Callum Booth saw a curling strike from the edge of the box go just over, then May squandered a glorious opportunity as he directed a glancing header just by the far post.

It was then the visitors who were next to threaten as Moyo edged an aerial challenge with the ball landing at Andy Winter in the box, but the forward sliced his volley wide of goal.

Chris Kane then opened the goal up for himself with a lovely turn on the edge of the Hamilton box, only to shoot straight at Kyle Gourlay.

Hamilton saw a rare sight of goal in the second half as Thomas embarked on a run from his own half only to lash high and wide when he made it into the St Johnstone box.

Brian Rice's defence stood firm, but they were caught napping when Kane - similar to May in the first half - failed to direct a free header on goal.

The hosts continued to push in the closing stages, and should have won it through Michael O'Halloran who side-footed a golden opportunity from close range past Gourlay's near post.

Man of the match - Brian Easton

What did we learn?
Livingston ended St Johnstone's 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions just over two weeks ago, and since then the Perth club have responded with three defeats and a draw.

Wednesday was also the 10th time in 21 league games that Callum Davidson's side have failed to score this season. They are creating chances, it is just about taking them. With January around the corner, will the St Johnstone manager look to bring in someone who can covert?

As for Hamilton, Rice asked for a "horrible, nasty, energetic" performance from his players, and that is certainly what he got.

While his side posed a threat in the first half, it was backs-to-the-wall stuff for the majority of the second period as his team defended for their lives to claim just a fourth clean sheet in the league this season. That is the type of commitment Rice will need to see in 2021 if Accies are to avoid the drop.

What they said
St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "The boys were fantastic. I'm happy with how they applied themselves. We created so many chances. You've got to take them when they come along.

"All credit to Hamilton, I thought they put their bodies on the line and made it difficult for us to get clear stuff, but I thought we had enough clear chances to take the game."

Hamilton head coach Brian Rice: "It was exactly what I was after. It was a hardworking, gritty, nasty Hamilton performance, we got that. We had the best chance of the match in the first minute.

"We are delighted to come away from here with a point. It's a fantastic point for us. We look solid, we look strong. The defending started from the front. It was a really good team effort."

What's next?
Both sides return to action on Saturday (15:00 GMT) as St Johnstone travel to Ross County and Hamilton welcome Lanarkshire rivals Motherwell.