Dunfermline and St Johnstone fought out a dull and boring stalemate at East End Park to enter the winter break in mid-table security.

The best chance of the game came in the second minute when Saints midfielder Nic Dasovic somehow managed to miss an open goal from six yards.

The match went downhill after that and the final whistle came as a relief to those watching, who had endured a mostly torturous 90 minutes.

The game could have taken a different turn if Dasovic had converted a tremendous chance carved out by John Paul McBride in the second minute.

The ball landed at Dasovic's feet but somehow the Canadian managed to miss the target from all of six yards.

Dunfermline were stung and the reply came five minutes later when Stevie Crawford found some space for himself 20 yards from goal but his drive was straight at keeper Alan Main who saved comfortably.

A minute later Crawford again had an effort from the same position but once more Main was well positioned to gather.

As the first half wore on there was little excitement for the fans and Crawford had another attempt in his desperation to score but his 25-yard shot was blocked by Saints defender Jim Weir and spun away for a corner.

Opportunities began to present themselves to both sides and Crawford was in the thick of things, although he should have done better when Ian Ferguson released him on the half-way line.

But the ex-Hibs man hesitated as he drove through on goal and was eventually caught by Weir.

Kiegan Parker, anonymous for much of the proceedings, showed a burst of pace to leave Scott Thomson in his wake but his cut back failed to find Paddy Connolly and a good opportunity was missed.

In the 35th minute, Thomson found himself with space in the Saints six yard box but his header from a Barry Nicholson free-kick was easily saved by Main.

The second period started in brighter fashion and within minutes of the restart Thomson had two fruitless attempts on goal.

But St Johnstone were also looking for the elusive breakthrough and forced a couple of corners in quick succession which finished with Parker blazing high over the bar from 16 yards.

The game developed into a stalemate and neither side looked like creating anything remotely clear cut.

David Moss replaced Ian Ferguson after 66 minutes as Dunfermline desperately attempted to change things around.

A minute later, Stevie Hampshire came close with a great strike from the edge of the box which beat Main but which went narrowly past the right hand post.

In the 73rd minute, the visitors nearly took the lead in dramatic fashion. Momo Sylla, who had flattered to deceive all afternoon, curled a lovely shot from 20 yards which beat Ruitenbeek only to rebound back into play off the post.

It was a rare piece of skill in what was turning into a poor game.

There was some excitement in the closing stages as both sides went all out for the winner but in the end a draw was probably a fair result.