Last updated on .From the section Scottish Premiership

Chris Kane struck in injury time to earn St Johnstone victory and prevent Motherwell returning to third place in the Scottish Premiership.

Stephen Robinson's side had the opportunity to move back above Aberdeen with a point and looked like doing so after Christopher Long's bizarre goal cancelled out Callum Hendry's opener.

But after Christy Manzinga was shown a second yellow card with 10 minutes left, Kane bundled in a late winner to leave Motherwell without a win in five matches in all competitions.

St Johnstone stay eighth, having lost just two of their last 13.

Tommy Wright's side have a game in hand over Kilmarnock, whose win over Rangers mean they are two points ahead of the Perth side in seventh.

Game decided by extraordinary moments

The last time these two sides came up against each other, Motherwell sent St Johnstone bottom of the table with a crushing 4-0 victory.

But coming into this game, the form tables had flipped. The Fir Park side were without a win in four games in all competitions, while St Johnstone had won their past two and had all of a sudden become a very difficult side to beat - only Celtic and Livingston have taken maximum points off them since the start of December.

It felt like a game where form could be ignored, though. Robinson made a point of twice mentioning the state of the pitch and general conditions, with the game sandwiched between the departure of Storm Ciara and arrival of Storm Dennis.

He did say his words were not intended as an excuse, but he was probably entitled to. This was a game decided by rare and bizarre occurrences, and devoid of neat play until the last 20 minutes of the match.

Both sides threatened early on with speculative efforts, while Drey Wright had a good chance to put St Johnstone ahead with a mistimed volley from close range.

They did take the lead after 27 minutes, however. Hendry attempted to play a team-mate through but the ball ricocheted off two Motherwell defenders and straight back into his path. That wasn't intentional, but Hendry's unerring, outside-of-the-foot strike into the far corner was.

But just five minutes later, Motherwell equalised in the most bizarre fashion. Allan Campbell was played through, but a brilliant last-ditch challenge stopped him getting to it ahead of Zander Clark.

The ball squirted towards Long, who side-footed a tame effort towards goal, and Clark somehow allowed the ball to roll under his fingers, before it kissed a post, trickled along the line and skipped into the net before the goalkeeper had the chance to react.

It took until the 70th minute before either side awoke from their passive state, as St Johnstone suddenly realised that they were easily capable of winning the game.

Motherwell had their backs to the wall. Liam Grimshaw made a crucial goal-saving interception, Jason Kerr headed a cross against a post and bodies were being flung all over the place to keep the ball out of Mark Gillespie's goal. It looked like they were going to hold out, too.

But in yet another bizarre moment, substitute Manzinga was sent off for picking up two yellow cards in the 13 minutes that he had been on the pitch. His first came after he slipped and took out Wright. His second came for simulation in the area. A needless blow.

And there was still one last moment of drama to come. Kane, who had replaced Hendry with 15 minutes to go, made a run across Peter Hartley to meet a cross which caught Gillespie out and tip-toed over the line.

Cruel for Motherwell who had defended well - if nothing else - but a deserved victory for the home side.

Man of the match - Drey Wright

BBC Sport Scotland's Tyrone Smith at McDiarmid Park

It was the kind of night that, every time Wright got the ball, you felt something was going to happen, and it usually did. His trickery and pace on the flank caused Motherwell problems all game.

A nightmare for the visitors, a dream for his St Johnstone team-mates, who were the beneficiaries of his clever and tireless endeavour.

'We got what we deserved' - reaction

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright: "We totally dominated the second half. We dealt with their long ball and throws into the box. We kept going right until the end. We got fully what we deserved.

"I'm really pleased and it's another great three points against a good side who have been going well."

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson: "It's a real kick in the teeth to lose a goal that late on when we have possession of the ball. We mess about on the ball twice. There's a real naivety in our defending. Down to 10 men, put the ball into the corner a get up behind it - and we've been punished.

"I'm really, really disappointed in how we managed the last minutes of the game with 10 men. We only have ourselves to blame."