Road closure works against Saints as Killie take all three points

St Johnstone suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Kilmarnock after a road closure forced them into a late reshuffle of their team.Michael O'Halloran and Richard Foster dropped out of the starting line-up after being caught up in the closure of the A9 following a road-traffic incident near Dunblane at about 12.40pm on Saturday.Kilmarnock had safely navigated the same route and Stuart Findlay headed them in front early on. And Eamonn Brophy grabbed a winner with his first goal for the Ayrshire club after Steven McLean had levelled two minutes before the break.Saints manager Tommy Wright expressed his anger in a radio interview before the match as he awaited the arrival of a carload of players which also included Chris Millar and Denny Johnstone. Graham Cummins and Liam Gordon were drafted into the team, with O'Halloran the only one of the late quartet to make the bench. He did not get on.St Johnstone's day went from bad to worse when they made a major contribution to Findlay's 10th-minute opener. Greg Tansey's misplaced pass-back went out for a corner and, after Findlay met Dom Thomas's delivery, Liam Craig had a chance to clear off the line but took a fresh-air swipe.Killie initially defended their box well and Kris Boyd had a chance after Brophy's flick sent him in behind but he shot high and wide with his left foot from outside the box.Saints equalised after taking a quick free-kick on the right wing. Blair Alston whipped in a cross and McLean powered a header inside the near post.Brophy threatened twice early in the second half and finished well in the 66th minute after right-back Stephen O'Donnell had jinked his way past two home players and slipped the ball into his path.The former Hamilton player soon had a penalty claim rejected after appearing to be brought down by Steven Anderson - referee John Beaton instead gave a free-kick against the Kilmarnock player for holding his opponent's shirt.The visitors kept up the pressure and Brophy looked set to double his tally when he waltzed through the home defence and rounded Zander Clark.But the Saints goalkeeper recovered to divert the striker's shot wide as he looked set to roll it into an empty net.Brophy went off injured and Saints exerted some pressure in the final 15 minutes but substitute David Wotherspoon saw his 20-yard curler bounce off the inside of a post and out again as Killie stretched their unbeaten run on the road to seven Ladbrokes Premiership matches.