In a game which could have warmed up the frozen Perth atmosphere, both sides contrived to serve up a shocking goalless draw which was short on goals but big on missed chances.

Frenchman David Zitelli was closest to breaking the deadlock but his second-half effort smacked against the post instead.

Former Hibs winger Paul Hartley nearly won the game for Saints with a last-gasp free-kick but Nick Colgan saved the away side with an excellent parry.

Saints have only enjoyed two home wins in a disastrous year so far - one of them coincidentally over Hibs last April - and a 4-0 drubbing at Easter Road in September precipitated Sandy Clark's downfall as manager.

New man Billy Stark rang the changes after another defeat last time out at Livingston, with skipper Jim Weir ruled out with a broken cheekbone from a freak training accident and off-form Paddy Connolly dropping to the bench after missing a string of golden chances.

Loan star Mark Lynch returned to Manchester United with an ankle injury.

Stuart McCluskey replaced Weir in defence with Craig Russell replacing Connolly - Tommy Lovenkrands came in after injury and young Martyn Fotheringham made a rare start in midfield.

Rookie Hibs boss Franck Sauzee made a couple of changes after losing his managerial debut at Dunfermline last weekend.

Ulrik Laursen and Freddy Arpinion, both benched at East End Park, came into the team in place of Francisco Luna and Ian Murray.

Hibs enjoyed the first real action of the game, zipping 12 passes around before Zitelli forced a corner.

Saints came firing back moments later though and some excellent inter-play between Ross Forsyth and Rachid Djebaili saw the Algerian international break clear of his marker and an excellent low cross just evaded Russell at the far post.

Saints enjoyed a golden chance moments later with a counter-attack finding them five-on-four with the Hibs defence.

Four players weaved their way around the Hibs defence but Lovenkrands dwelled on the ball and found his path blocked before he could cross.

Russell was next to try his luck from 25 yards and won a corner - Djebaili eventually getting a tame header in on goal.

Saints were in the ascendancy and Fotheringham's cheeky chip from fully 35 yards deceived the stranded Colgan but missed its target.

Hibs struggled to get into the game, misplacing more passes than found their target, and those which did find a man usually also found veteran Paul Kane in close attendance.

The Edinburgh men did eventually force a corner against the run of play but even that chance was wasted by Fenwick's foul on Saints goalkeeper Alan Miller.

Saints rounded off the half in fine style with an excellent chance which again went begging.

Djebaili threaded an excellent pass to the on-rushing Russell but he was unable to find the target and the move finished in yet another wasted corner.

Hibernian came out looking to warm up their frozen fans and Grant Brebner set out his team's stall straight away with a meaty challenge on Miller which had the Saints goalkeeper fuming.

Minutes later Zitelli was in the thick of the action as his team totally turned the game, intercepting the ball in midfield and firing a pass down the left wing to Matthias Jack.

His cross found Arpinion free in the box, and a header led to a corner. That cross also found the Frenchman on his own and a point-blank header was only kept out by a fantastic save from Miller.

Hibs kept up the pressure and Zitelli was again the danger man, sending a low cross straight to Brebner, whose diving shot smacked straight off the upright.

Hibs controlled the action but Saints were not out of things just yet and Hartley found himself unmarked deep in enemy territory with two men breaking clear on his right.

Hartley opted to shoot rather than play the obvious pass and both Djebaili and Connolly - just brought on for Russell - made good runs that were wasted.

Zitelli was the man of the moment though and he could easily have put Hibs in the lead on 63 minutes.

John O'Neil swung a looping cross into the box, Zitelli was unmarked, but after totally wrong-footing Miller with a header across goal, the ball managed to clear the crossbar.

Zitelli was rewarded for his efforts by being subbed for new boy Eduardo Hurtado.

But Hibs kept up the pressure on the Saints goal with another series of corners.

First Orman picked up the rebounded ball on the edge of the box, firing a shot which was deflected wide, then O'Neil picked up a loose ball outside the box, crossing for Hurtado, who just put his shot wide.

Manager Sauzee tried a double substitution to revive his club's fortunes, taking off Jack and Arpinion for Ulises de la Cruz and Ian Murray.

Hibs piled towards the Saints goal in search of a late winner with Hurtado missing a couple of headers.

Hartley nearly won it for the home side through with a free-kick which was almost a carbon copy of his goal at Livingston last week - he tested Colgan from 25 yards but the Hibs goalkeeper was equal to the task and pushed the shot just wide.

There ended the action and in a game with few clear-cut chances and only a couple of shots which did anything to trouble the goalkeepers, the 4,000 punters braving the elements were hardly rewarded for their loyalty.

Teams:

St Johnstone: Miller, Murray, McCluskey, Dods, Forsyth, Hartley, Kane (Dasovic 84), Fotheringham, Lovenkrands (Macdonald 73), Russell (Connolly 57), Djebaili.

Subs Not Used: Cuthbert, Falconer.

Booked: McCluskey.

Hibernian: Colgan, Orman, Fenwick, Smith, Laursen, Arpinon (Murray 81), O'Neil, Jack (De la Cruz 77), Brebner, McManus, Zitelli (Hurtado 65).

Subs Not Used: Caig, O'Connor.

Att: 4,056

Ref: K Toner (Scotland).