The pre-season is over and mistakes matter now as points are at stake in the SPL.

The first Saturday of the SPL season matched two manager new to the top flight in Scotland. Motherwell and St Johnstone ended the day with a point a-piece with both managers satisfied that their players showed encouraging signs for the rest of the season. Motherwell's Jim Gannon wants his side to be entertaining and he was pleased with what his youthful team produces at McDiarmid Park as they twice fought back for a 2-2 draw. Teenager Shaun Hutchinson and just out of his teens Ross Forbes scored their debut SPL goals in a thrilling second half. Defender Hutchinson's header into the top corner from 16 yards was impressive but Forbes topped that when he hit a genuine contender for goal of the season when he curled a shot into the top corner from 25 yards from wide on the right. Both sides went all out for victory in the closing quarter - Kenny Deuchar missed an open goal for Saints while Jim O'Brien struck the inside of the post from 25 yards.

Gannon's Motherwell had already shown their fans the type of flowing football he is determined to deliver during their Europa League campaign - most notably in the 8-1 win over Flamurtari. The Europa League campaign, thought short, had whetted the appetite for the 1,500 travelling fans in McDiarmid Park who watched a spirited comeback after Murray Davidson's deflected effort gave the SPL newcomers a deserved half-time lead. Gannon changed things around at half-time and moved to a 4-4-2 formation with an average age of less than 21.

Gannon said: "I'm just really pleased about the energy and enthusiasm and the attacking threat in the second half. It was exciting for me so I'm sure it was exciting for the fans. It's an entertainment industry. We have got some fantastic young players here who are going to serve this club well and serve the Scottish national set-up well. For me, football is about excitement and entertainment and producing good young players. We have a fantastic set of supporters. I think they are excited and optimistic for the potential for this team to play good football. I don't know what their hopes are for the season but they are certainly going to see a group of young players that will give everything and see an exciting style."

Motherwell were not the only side determined to show off their attacking football skills with Saints manager Derek McInnes including Felipe Morais in a three-man strikeforce in a first half during which the First Division champions looked the more threatening. The home side looked to be on course for their first SPL win in seven years when Graham Gartland scrambled a goal on the hour mark. Although McInnes was disappointed his side did not manage to hold out for all three points, he was satisfied with their contribution to a promising opening game. McInnes said: "It was open and end-to-end. I thought there was a lot of good football. It was a good advert for the league and we'll be a good addition to it on that performance. There were some top performances out there and we can take a lot of confidence from that."

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