There were some surprises in the Saints lineup, with David van Zanten moved into defence and Stephen McGinn playing wide right. Most people expected Franco Miranda to play at left back with Ian Maxwell moving in one and the absence of the Argentinian may suggest his future lies elsewhere.
Caley Thistle threatened the most early on, Dennis Wyness duffing a chance wide before Ian Black's nifty control allowed him to unleash a shot that Chris Smith - suffering swollen glands - did well to turn behind. All Saints could muster were a few efforts well off target from the likes of Mehmet, Andy Dorman and Hugh Murray (in for the injured Gary Mason).
The fluid, attacking play of the last few weeks seemed to have vanished with Saints looking shaky at the back, perhaps due to the movement of van Zanten. Don Cowie's long range cross was spilled by Smith before going behind, while Wyness brought another decent save from the Saints keeper. However, the resulting corner spellt disaster. Cowie's ball in was knocked across goal by Wyness and Grant Munro was on hand to crash home goal number 1,000 in Caley Thistle's league history.
The Saints response revolved around McGinn. Three times the youngster managed to provide good crosses, the first two ending up with shots wide and the third seeing the ball in the net but the whistle had already gone for a mystery foul. This was just one of a number of strange decisions from the referee, with some rough tackles flying in from both sides that went unpunished.
Saints were in control after the break, Dorman shooting well over with a free kick before Corcoran had a shot blocked. Caley threatened through Dougie Imrie and Marius Niculae, but these were just blips at this point.
Goal machine Ian Maxwell should have scored on his recent form, somehow putting a close range chance wide, before Hamilton was introduced. And boy did he have an impact. His imposing style caused problems and brought back memories of the good old days of Mark yardley and Barry Lavety playing up front.
An early effort from the striker was deflected wide before he flicked a long ball into Mehmet's path for a shot that was deflected behind. Dargo volleyed over at a corner before, finally, the equaliser came. Maxwell's cross was knocked back by Dargo, Hamilton's shot was saved by Michael Fraser but Mehmet thrashed home the loose ball.
Saints had the sniff of all three points and Hamilton and Corcoran both shot over before Corcoran went close again. However, Barry Wilson very nearly stole all three points for Caley Thistle, his superb volley going not far wide.
So, a draw. Nothing to boast about, but not too shabby either. With Gretna losing we're now 13 points clear of bottom spot. Hopefully the attacking, exciting football will be present for the whole game when we play Dundee United on Wednesday.