Match report: St Johnstone U18s 3-3 Ross County

Our under-18s showed character in abundance to continue their unbeaten start to the Club Academy Scotland Performance League.

An entertaining 3-3 draw with Ross County was the end result at a wind-swept McDiarmid Park on Friday afternoon.

Goalkeeper Kyle Thomson missed out due to a knock and Lucas Reid was in control between the posts. He pulled off a very smart stop in just the second minute to keep the score level.

A strong wind in Perth made free-flowing football challenging and chances in the opening exchanges were rare.

Captain Dom Shiels did have a weaving run forward towards the edge of the box before his shot on goal was blocked by recovering defenders.

We took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Jacob Fleming knocked in from close range following a cross from Brodie Dair.

It was County who would soon flip the script in the second half and they were level on 52 minutes through striker Calum Brown before nudging ahead on the hour mark.

The Highlanders added a third – Brown the scorer again – but we refused to give in and dug deep to rescue a point.

Central midfielder Jamie Cord was well-positioned to make it 3-2 with a finish from deep inside the box on 74 minutes and then Dair levelled proceedings with time running short.

His free-kick from out wide on the left evaded everyone in the box and nestled nicely in the far corner of the net.

There was a late push for a winner but it was a point apiece come the full-time whistle at McDiarmid Park.