The £500,000 capture from Halmstad struggled to adapt to the pace of the English game which roared around him at a furious pace.
With little time on the ball, he sometimes sent passes astray as he struggled to make an impact.
But he received little help from his team-mates who were equally poor in the first half.And he did manage Saints' best attempt on goal with an eight-yard shot which produced a remarkable save from Thomas Sorensen with the rebound being kicked off the line by Mark Delaney.Sturrock believes Nilsson will soon adjust to show his worth.
He said: "It was a real baptism of fire for him. Coming from a much slower-paced game in Sweden, he found the pace of this match frightening.
"But he will be better for this experience and he will learn from it.
"It was a wee culture shock for him but he will benefit from it because he is a quality player.
"As a team though we did not perform in that first half. We had prepared well but it did not happen for us.
"Now we have to get on the training ground this week and sort it out."
