Dundee United manager Thomas Courts was left "frustrated" for Peter Pawlett following his sending off 12 minutes after scoring the winner against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.

Pawlett capitalised on a loose ball to finish past Zander Clark on the hour mark and ran to the away fans.

The United midfielder was booked for that celebration, and then for diving, but his side held on for victory.

"I really feel frustrated for Pete," Courts told BBC Scotland.

"He got booked for an over-exuberant celebration, but from where I was standing I didn't see it as pushing the boundaries.

"Secondly, he's known to be a really quick dribbler. There was a touch - the referee's clearly missed that."

St Johnstone remain winless, having drawn their first two league matches, but their primary short-term focus is reaching the group stage of the Europa Conference League, with the return leg of their play-off tie with LASK to come on Thursday after a 1-1 draw in Austria.

United, meanwhile, join Celtic and Rangers as the sides to have won two and lost one of their three matches so far and have now recorded back-to-back victories.

Young boss Courts bounced back from a turgid start at Aberdeen with a rousing win against Rangers, and this was another promising performance.

The visitors were not hugely superior to St Johnstone, but carved out the better chances and ultimately the crucial goal.

Pawlett reacted sharply into the box after Jamie Robson's cross was initially cleared, and took one touch before prodding the ball past a helpless Clark.

With 2,000 United fans bouncing in celebration behind the goal, Pawlett understandably raced to them in euphoria but paid the price as referee Don Robertson was forced to show a yellow card for excessive celebrations.

Pawlett then tripped Callum Booth but escaped without any punishment, then 18 minutes later he was protesting in utter fury at Robertson's call to show him a second yellow card - and ultimately a red - after he went to ground under pressure from Murray Davidson.

It was incredibly hard to tell whether there was contact from the St Johnstone midfielder, but Pawlett's dramatic flop arguably did him no favours.

In any case, it did not prove costly as St Johnstone failed to capitalise in the final 12 minutes, with Glenn Middleton's strike the closest they came, as stand-in United goalkeeper Trevor Carson produced a solid save.

Before that, Charlie Mulgrew's close-range effort, Marc McNulty's header and shot, and Nicky Clark's long-range effort were the best of the game's chances as United proved the more effective in the final third.

Man of the match - Dylan Levitt

What did we learn?

Surprisingly, St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson made just the two changes after Thursday's exertions against LASK in Austria, but his side did not look too leggy.

There was no shortage of intent, but they lacked the quality they've shown in Europe so far against Galatasaray and LASK. Talented midfielder Ali McCann was not able to bring his influence on the ball as the middle of the pitch became a battle, and Chris Kane was not as productive up front.

As for United, Levitt look assured on his debut and linked the play well, and McNulty also brought energy to the front line. Their problem is still scoring goals - they have only managed to score more than once in a single game this season against Elgin City in the League Cup - but the outstanding defensive work of Mulgrew, Ryan Edwards, Liam Smith and Robson always gives them a chance.

Goalkeeper Carson is also a good deputy for the injured Benjamin Siegrist, whose prognosis is unclear after going down in training on Saturday.
What did they say?

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson "I thought it was a really tough game. Dundee United tried to play some really good football at times, so did my team.

"For us we lacked a little bit of quality and a bit of zip. I don't know if that was a hangover from Thursday night. We weren't quite there today."

Dundee United manager Thomas Courts: "I thought we had long periods when we controlled the game and had multiple chances. St Johnstone are naturally a threat from set pieces and crosses into the box.

"But I think today was all about us, I thought it was a tremendous performance and one I'd like to dedicate to Benji Siegrist, who unfortunately got injured yesterday."
What's next?

St Johnstone face one of the biggest games in their history on Thursday as LASK come calling at McDiarmid Park in the return leg of their Europa Conference League play-off (19:00 BST). Dundee United are at home to Hearts in the league on Saturday (15:00).