St Mirren ended 2023 by producing a clinical away performance to sink sorry Aberdeen at a toxic Pittodrie. Goals from Mark O'Hara and Jonah Ayunga plus a late Greg Kiltie penalty cemented a huge result on the road and keeps the Paisley Saints firmly in the race for Europe. O'Hara missed an early penalty which could've made it far more comfortable. Barry Robson's men were abject for large spells and remain ninth in the Scottish Premiership, albeit with games in hand. The hosts started the match on the front foot with Jamie McGrath having an early penalty shout dismissed by referee Grant Irvine after tumbling inside the box. McGrath was one of two changes for Aberdeen from last time out as Dante Polvara and Angus MacDonald dropped to the bench. And the Irishman appeared pivotal to everything positive in the Reds' early play. St Mirren threatened for the first time when Mikael Mandron pounced on a defensive mistake but couldn't generate enough power to beat Kelle Roos. Moments later they were ahead through O'Hara. The Buddies captain rifled the ball beyond the Aberdeen goalkeeper via a deflection after Mandron's initial effort was blocked, and sent the travelling support in the South Stand berserk. Stephen Robinson's team were awarded a spot kick on 19 minutes following a handball by Richard Jensen. O'Hara had the opportunity to make it two from 12-yards but sliced his penalty wide, much to the relief of the majority around Pittodrie. Aberdeen struggled to get a clear foothold on proceedings and it was the visitors who continued to penetrate their goal. Luis 'Duk' Lopes and Bojan Miovski were desperate to level proceedings for Aberdeen before the break, though. First, Duk was denied by Zach Hemming at point-blank range before Miovski's left footed volley swirled beyond the post. Then, Leighton Clarkson stung the gloves of the St Mirren stopper. There was a scrappy feel with very little quality on show and boos rang out at the half-time whistle. The second 45 began in a similar fashion as the rain poured down, which made for extremely slippery conditions. Lewis Jamieson will feel he should've added to St Mirren's lead when he cut in from the right yet could only fire low at Roos. That was perhaps the wake-up call Aberdeen required. James McGarry found space up the other end almost immediately after and unleashed a shot that needed a strong save from Hemming. Goalscorer, O'Hara, was forced off through injury prior to the hour mark, with Caolan Boyd-Munce introduced to the action. The Aberdeen dugout also opted for a tactical tweak as they went from a back five to a four after making a triple change. Substitute Polvara spurred an excellent chance with a glancing header but once again Aberdeen left themselves open on the counter-attack and were almost punished by Toyosi Olusanya following a Slobodan Rubezic error. St Mirren eventually got their second goal with 12 minutes remaining as Ayunga followed in Scott Tanser's pin-point cross at the back post. Pittodrie quickly emptied and there were a few unfavourable chants directed towards Aberdeen boss Robson. VAR checked for a possible Buddies penalty during stoppage time, and it was given by the officials despite a lengthy delay. Kiltie took the responsibility and dispatched perfectly to seal maximum points for the visitors. Here's the key talking points from the clash.
Saints shine in the rain
The Paisley side's form has plummeted in recent weeks following a bright start to the season. They had picked up just three wins from their last 15 games, with a lack of goals a clear concern. So, a spirited showing in the Granite City coupled with three strikes without reply gives them the ultimate festive gift. Robinson was particularly pleased with their relentless approach which caught Aberdeen cold and delivered their first away triumph since September. He said: "It's been coming. We've had some very good performances, what's let us down as a collective is that we weren't taking our chances and we were conceding from set-plays. So, we've done both those aspects, in both 18-yard boxes, much better today. The general performance was very good.
"We will never stop looking up and we will never stop believing. If we were playing really poorly and not creating any chances, then that's when you would start to worry but that wasn't the case. We spoke to the players and told them to keep believing. We are a positive group of staff and players. Of Course it's a big test on Tuesday [vs Celtic] but I think it's one that we can handle."
Pressure piles back on angry Robson
Back to back league victories had eased calls for Robson to be sacked, but another home defeat leaves Aberdeen languishing down the wrong side of the table from where they strive to be. They lacked identity and the vibe around the ground at full-time suggested supporters are losing faith that the Inverurie-born gaffer can turn this around. He knows that the display was unacceptable and apologised for the manner they lost the match. Speaking at full-time, Robson raged: "Angry, nowhere near good enough. I've said that to the players, I'm not saying anything here that I've not said to them. It was a surprise, I never expected that performance from them so the message was clear to them that it was unacceptable and they need to go and win the next game, especially for the fans."
Rustiness rather than freshness
Aberdeen's previous two games versus Dundee and Motherwell were postponed because of adverse weather. That meant they were playing catch-up and face a hectic fixture schedule after the winter break. 17,029 punters were in attendance and it wasn't to be a happy end to 2023 for those in red. There was plenty of talk that they would be fresh because of their 10-day break, even though that was far from the case. The Dons failed to win any second balls and even had to call on a wasted penalty and several saves from Roos to prevent further damage. Aberdeen travel to Dingwall on Tuesday hoping to bounce back and the mammoth tie against Ross County will present another stern test. Should they fail to perform then questions will be seriously asked if Robson's the man to lead the club going forward.
