Hibernian battled out a 1-1 draw with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, despite playing with 10 men for the majority of the second half.
After an uneventful opening, the first chance fell the way of the hosts on 11 minutes. Veteran stopper David Marshall made a mess of his clearance, passing the ball straight to former Hibees winger Drey Wright on the edge of the box. However the former Scotland number one redeemed himself, getting down low to save Wright's powerful strike that was heading for the bottom corner.
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But the 38-year was picking the ball out of the net on 25 minutes, after making another unforced error. Hibs struggled to deal with a Saints corner, and Stevie May produced an acrobatic overhead kick that somehow went through Marshall's hands at the near post.
Lee Johnson's side had offered very little going forward in the majority of the first half, but soon found themselves level seven minutes later. The visitors piled men forward down the left, and after the ball fell to Lewis Stevenson on the edge of the area, the boyhood Hibee flashed a brilliant left-footed shot into the far corner, giving St Johnstone keeper Remi Matthews absolutely no chance.
It continued to be a scrappy affair in the closing stages of the first period, with referee Craig Napier having his work cut out, blowing regularly for fouls on either side.
But after the interval, things quickly turned sour for the team from Leith, when midfielder Jimmy Jeggo was shown a straight red card on 48 minutes for a challenge on Connor McLennan. VAR reviewed the incident, but the decision stood and the Austrian headed down the tunnel.
Marshall had atoned for his first half blunder to deny Wright once more with a good save, but St Johnstone struggled to make their numerical advantage count. Like in the opening 45 minutes, the game was a very stop-start event, with cards being dished out left, right and centre on both sides - including on the dug out for members of each team's coaching staff.
On 65 minutes, Marshall was at his best again, reacting well to prevent ex-Hibee Melker Halberg's shot from trickling over the line.
Scoring goals has been the bane of St Johnstone's season, and that was made visibly clear as Hibernian looked relatively comfortable at the back, despite being penned into their own six yard box.
Marshall was called into action for a final time to bat away Hallberg's header, but the away team held onto make it two games unbeaten, following their derby day win against Hearts at Easter Road six days earlier.
The draw ensured Hibs' place in the top six, and also moved them up to fifth in the final game before the league split, after Kilmarnock picked up a shock away victory against St Mirren. Here's three things we learned:
A tale of two halves for David Marshall
The experienced keeper has been a bit of a mixed bag since his arrival in Leith last summer. And that inconsistency came to the fore once again in today's game in Perth.
The 38-year old got away with one in the opening minutes, when his attempted pass landed straight at Saints winger Wright, who then forced Marshall into a decent stop.
However he had no such luck 15 minutes later, somehow allowing Stevie May's acrobatic shot to slip through his fingertips, as Hibs fell behind.
But the veteran showed why he is still a force to be reckoned with, making several top saves in the second half to grind out a point for the 10 men of Hibs.
That point also proved pivotal, ensuring Lee Johnson's men claimed their spot in the top six, having missed out on it entirely last season.
VAR at the forefront once again
The use of VAR in Scotland has been a hot talking point all week in the wake of Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie's red card up in Dingwall against Ross County in midweek.
And after another contentious sending off at McDiarmid Park this afternoon, referees and those at the top of the SFA, will be bracing themselves for some more criticism.
Midfielder Jeggo went in for a 50/50 tackle with Saints forward McLennan, and although he did win the ball, slightly caught his opponent on the follow through.
Referee Napier immediately brought out the red card, and after a short delay for a VAR check, the decision stood.
Hibs might feel as if they have a case, but will be wary of lodging an appeal against the red card, having seen what happened up at Pittodrie earlier this week.
Scraping over the line
It hasn't been pretty, but four points from the last six available have been enough to get Hibs into the top six ahead of the post split fixtures.
The Hibees have won just two of their last 13 matches, but are now only four points off rivals Hearts in fourth spot, and will still feel they are in with a chance of securing a return to European football next season.
The Easter Road club now eagerly await the fixture list for their final five games of the campaign, but will know they have to build on their last two results if they are to have a successful end to what has been an up-and-down season.
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