Kilmarnock substitutes Tommy Johnson and Kris Boyd finally sparked some life into a dull game in front of the lowest ever Scottish Premier League crowd at St Johnstone.

Former Celtic hitman Johnson replaced Ally Mitchell at half-time and opened the scoring from a free-kick just five minutes later before adding his second of the day nine minutes later.

Saints could have pulled a goal back when they were awarded a penalty after Paul Hartley was brought down by Gordon Marshall.

But second half sub Peter MacDonald's spot-kick was blocked by goalkeeper Gordon Marshall.

Young substitute Kris Boyd also made an impact on the game when he netted the third goal with just six minutes remaining.

For those opposed to the idea of the Scottish Premier League splitting into two sections after 33 games, this game was the ideal case study to back that argument.

Seventh-placed Kilmarnock headed into the game one point ahead of Dunfermline - who sat one place above them in the table - knowing they had no chance of progressing any further in the league despite the outcome of their remaining matches.

The only issue of interest at the bottom end of the table had already been decided a fortnight ago when Saints lost their battle for top flight survival at Motherwell.

The indifference surrounding this particular game was underlined further by the fact that the attendance for an SPL game hit an all time low of just 2285 - less than the previous record of 2610 who turned out to watch Dunfermline play Motherwell a year ago.

Following the proposed resignation of the 10 clubs outside of the Old Firm from the SPL, that statistic does not make good reading for those convinced they can survive without Rangers and Celtic.

Even the action on the park between Saints and Killie gave the impression that the 22 players were mostly just going through the motions and, between them, they could muster only a handful of chances in the opening 45 minutes.

St Johnstone had the opportunity to open the scoring after nine minutes when Craig Dargo hauled down Tommy Lovenkrands 30 yards out.

But Hartley hit the resultant free-kick long and low through the Killie defence but goalkeeper Marshall never really looked troubled and the effort was easily held.

Andy McLaren was easily the most impressive player in the first half and he was unlucky not to open the scoring from a free kick when he clipped the crossbar from 18 yards.

Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies opted to make two changes at half-time when Ally Mitchell was replaced by Johnson and youngster Sean Dillon was given his chance in place of Stephen Murray.

That decision paid off almost immediately for the Rugby Park side when they surged into the lead just five minutes after the re-start.

Former Celtic hitman Johnson stepped up for a free-kick on the corner of the area and left Cuthbert helpless when he fired low past the Saints goalkeeper into the bottom corner of the net to add some life to the game.

Saints tried to hit back six minutes later when Graeme Jones attempted the volley but the shot deflected off team-mate Hartley into the safety of goalkeeper Marshall's arms and the chance was lost.

Saints had the ideal opportunity to haul themselves back into the game after 69 minutes when referee Bobby Orr ruled Hartley was brought down by Marshall and pointed to the penalty spot.

MacDonald had replaced Keigan Parker five minutes earlier and he stepped up for the spot-kick only to aim straight at the goalkeeper who managed to block and retain the two goal advantage.

Then, with just six minutes remaining, they were hit by the proverbial sucker-punch when Killie raised their goal tally to three.

Once again, Jefferies made a wise choice when he opted to replace McLaren with teenage striker Boyd.

And Dargo was the provider with a short ball that released Boyd to slot home after 84 minutes.

Teams

St Johnstone Cuthbert, McClune (McCulloch 81), Murray, Dods, Weir, Lovenkrands, Connolly, Hartley, Jones, Parker (Macdonald 65), Panther.

Subs Not Used: Devlin, McBride, Lynch.

Kilmarnock Marshall, Canero, Shields, Dindeleux, Innes, Mahood, Mitchell (Dillon 45), McLaren (Boyd 75), Ngonge, Dargo, Murray (Johnson 45).

Subs Not Used: Meldrum, McDonald.

Goals: Johnson 50, 59, Boyd 84.

Att: 2,285

Ref: B Orr (Scotland).