It's unusual to hear Gordon Strachan say he's lost for words, but anybody who was at Saturday's demolition of Blackburn will understand why.

Anybody who wasn't there may wonder how 1-1 can be a demolition - trust me, it was.

Saints tore Rovers to shreds, created chance after chance after chance and worked goalkeeper Brad Friedel to the point of exhaustion.

But a last-minute strike from Andy Cole meant everybody left scratching their heads and wondering just how Saints played so well and only came away with a point.

It's hard to know whether to criticise Saints for not turning their total dominance into three points or whether to praise what Strachan described as "the best we've played since I've been here."

It's probably best to say that it was a great display made only good by not winning.

A shell-shocked Strachan said: "I'm lost for words. That shouldn't have happened.

"I don't know the stats but I doubt very much if we will have as many good chances this year and get into as many good positions to put the final ball in.

"If my team played like that regularly the world would be a beautiful place.

"We have only ourselves to blame. It was not bad luck.

"We played as good as we've played since I've been here and at one point it was a treat to watch - even their fans were confused. They didn't know whether to boo or cry.

"It's hard to analyse a performance like that. After the match I just rambled on for two minutes then walked out.

"However hard it is for the fans or the coaching staff, it must be horrific for the players to play as well as that and not get the three points."

Saints have been unlucky to come up against some top quality keepers in recent weeks that have kept them out.,

In contrast, Antti Niemi must be desperately trying to find ways to keep himself awake during matches he has that little to do.

This time it was the turn of Friedel , whose efforts were perfectly summed up by Strachan when he said: "When he took his jersey off he had a blue top on with a big 'S' in the middle of it.

"He must have got changed in a telephone box before he came out."

It would take almost the whole of this supplement to detail all the saves he made so it's probably best to just pick out as many highlights as possible.

As early as four minutes in he kicked Chris Marsden's far post header off the line.

Just a minute later he had to save as ex-Blackburn striker Brett Ormerod raced in on goal after a poor backpass from John Curtis.

Into the second half and his best two saves came in the space of 30 seconds.

Firstly, Ormerod pulled the ball back to Anders Svensson whose well-struck shot was brilliantly kept out.

Then Fabrice Fernandes crossed for Marsden to shoot from 12 yards. It looked in but, somehow, Friedel was there again.

There was also notable saves from Fernandes and Anders Svensson when through on goal, but one player did beat him - James Beattie.

With 38 minutes gone Beattie fired home his third penalty in four Premiership matches and, even though Friedel guessed the right way, not even Superman could have kept this one out.

Anders Svensson had won the spot-kick after being fouled with his back to goal.

All over the pitch Saints controlled the match.

Defensively the back four was as solid as ever.

In particular, Claus Lundekvam produced a few vital challenges to make sure Niemi remained redundant, save one near post free-kick.

The midfield was won by Saints with all four again playing well.

Up front Beattie struggled to make much of an aerial impact against the giants of Martin Taylor and Craig Short but Ormerod held the ball up well and created openings.

But all of them were chances that weren't taken.

Saints got to byline and made the wrong decision regularly, missed the final ball, rushed the final shot.

It should have been a rout. Instead it was a draw.

Blackburn, down to ten men after Tugay had been sent off for two yellows - the first on 38 minutes for a foul on Anders Svensson and the second for blocking a quick free-kick on 76 minutes - hit back in the dying seconds.

Lucas Neill powered down Saints' right wing and crossed, only for the ball to hit Cole and bounce in.

Speechless was the only word that could sum it up.