Saints boss Gordon Strachan wasn't at Halmstads last night to watch his side lose their final pre-season tour match 2-1, but the reports that have no doubt filtered back to him will contain mixed reviews.

Strachan returned home from Sweden early for personal reasons, leaving Garry Pendrey and Dennis Rofe in charge of the side.

Injuries have taken their toll on this Saints squad and so has the need to prevent further injuries by not making players face the full 90 minutes of three games in a row.

So it was another re-shuffle last night with Danny Higginbotham partnering Claus Lundekvam at centre half, Jason Dodd at right back, Paul Telfer right midfield and David Prutton on the left-hand side of the middle four.

All 17 fit members of the squad were used at some point, to varying degrees of success, but overall Saints struggled in the first half and rallied slightly in the second.

It wasn't easy for them - Halmstads are 15 games into their season and currently sit fourth in Sweden's top division.

And the main difference between the two teams was an extra bit of zip and match sharpness displayed by the home side, particularly in the first half.

Their passing was crisper and more accurate and their attacks direct and incisive.

In terms of quality of players they weren't anything special, but still provided Saints with their toughest test of the tour so far.

Halmstads took the lead after 20 minutes when Graeme Le Saux conceded possession near the centre circle and the Swedes went straight for the jugular.

Olle Kullinger slid a ball which cut through the Saints defence to Robert Andersson - who had only been on the field a little over a minute - and he swept a 20-yard right- footed first-time effort into the bottom corner.

The lead was doubled on 34 minutes when Kullinger again played a lovely ball - this time down the left touchline - for Sharbel Touma to race clear and finished superbly across Paul Jones.

Prutton had been booked after just six minutes for a late tackle and was asked to leave the pitch on 36 minutes after an altercation with Mattias Thylander.

If it was a league match then he would have been shown a red card, but as it was a friendly referee Per-Anders Andersson used his common sense.

And, much to the delight of the Swedish fans, on came Anders Svensson.

The Scandinavian pin-up couldn't quite manage to conjure any of the magic which had seen him score four goals in his previous two matches on this tour.

But Saints did at least get a grip on the game in the second half after a host of half-time Halmstads changes.

The game remained competitive and hard fought, but there was a distinct lack of action for the most part.

There was plenty of huff and puff but the most creative Saints got was when Fabrice Fernandes was introduced on the right-hand side.

Matt Oakley had already missed a straightforward far post header when Fernandes started to cause a few minor problems.

His cross on 68 minutes was headed narrowly over by James Beattie, fit again after a calf injury, while the keeper had to tip over a 20-yard effort from the Frenchman five minutes from time.

Between those two chances Jo Tessem and Beattie had tested the keeper while Anders Svensson's curling free- kick from just outside the box was turned round the post.

But Fernandes helped Saints salvage at least a goal from the evening when, with four minutes remaining, he crossed from the right for Tessem to head into the top corner.

It was a bit too late to provide a late rally for Saints, who will now be glad to have a couple of days rest so nobody else ends up injured or exhausted.