Stuart McCall declared himself satisfied as Motherwell stayed six points ahead of Hearts in the SPL with a 0-0 draw at St Mirren.
St Mirren passed up a series of chances in the first half of an entertaining 0-0 draw but the visitors dominated the second period.
Home goalkeeper Craig Samson pulled off two stunning saves to deny Michael Higdon and Henrik Ojamaa as the Fir Park side pressed for a winner.
But McCall admitted he was happy with a point and insisted he did not have a go at his players for their below-par first half performance.
He said: "It wasn't a case of reading the riot act at half time. We were sloppy for the first 15 minutes and I felt we could improve.
"We did that in the second half and I was really pleased with the display.
"The save Samson pulled off from Higdon was terrific. He also saved one from Henrik Ojamaa, while Shaun Hutchinson should have scored with a header from a corner.
"For a 0-0, it was a really good game. We pushed for the winner in the second half but I thought it was a fair result.
"We go out to win every game and we were still trying to do that in injury time, but I'm not disappointed with the draw. It's a good point."
Motherwell had a strong penalty claim turned down in the first half when Nicky Law fell under a Marc McAusland challenge.
But McCall opted to reserve judgement on referee Craig Charleston's decision until he had a chance to watch a replay.
He said: "I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Nicky is adamant that it was a penalty, but I'm not crying about it - until I see it."
St Mirren manager Danny Lennon was frustrated at his side's inability to convert their first-half dominance into goals.
But he refused to criticise his players and instead hailed their strength of character for managing to secure the draw.
He said: "We came out of the traps well. We put Motherwell under pressure and could have been a bit more ruthless in front of goal.
"Motherwell are a good side and caused a lot of problems in the second half, but we showed a great sense of character.
"We showed determination and an unbreakable mentality. Last season, those games slipped away from us, so it was pleasing to take something.
"I'm satisfied at the performance. We managed to grind out a result in the second half and could maybe even have stolen it.
"There are five teams battling for the last top-six position and we feel we are making progress.
"That was our 11th clean sheet of the season, which is more than double what we got last year."
The outstanding performance of Samson was one of the main reasons for this latest clean sheet and Lennon hailed his goalkeeper.
He said: "Craig was top drawer. Paul Mathers our goalkeeping coach has worked hard with him and his performances have been excellent."
