Pretty football was rarely on display in Paisley as Saints and Aberdeen played out a goalless draw.
The Dons had the better of the first half and could have had a penalty when Conor McCarthy appeared to pull back Sam Cosgrove at the edge of the box. Despite the visitors being on top, it was the Buddies who should have been in front at the break as Jon Obika intercepted a slack backpass only to hit the post.
Saints improved after the break with Ilkay Durmus and Tony Andreu going closest with Aberdeen chances few and far between as the spoils ended up being shared.
Durmus and Andreu were back in the team in place of Paul McGinn and Kyle Magennis, the latter out for the season after he suffered a horrific knee injury against Rangers during the week. There was some good news on the bench though with Kirk Broadfoot returning to the squad after recovering from injury. Cosgrove led the attack for the visitors, who handed a debut to new signing Matty Kennedy.
Junior Morias had an early shot blocked for the Buddies, with Ash Taylor heading wide from a corner at the other end. Buddies keeper Vaclav Hladky is normally pretty reliable with his feet but sold Akin Famewo short with a pass that allowed Niall McGinn to pounce with the goal gaping, the on-loan Norwich City defender getting enough of himself in the way of the forward's shot to divert it over for a corner. Another uncharacteristic mistake from the Saints goalie allowed McGinn to get a cross in but Hladky recovered just in time to gather the ball as Cosgrove lurked dangerously.
The chance in the opening few minutes was pretty much all the Buddies had to show for their efforts in the opening quarter, Cammy MacPherson failing to find the target from long range in a rare attack. The Dons fans were screaming for a penalty moments later as McCarthy pulled back Cosgrove, however the officials were unmoved. Replays suggested it was a foul, the main issue being whether it was inside or out of the area. Another great chance for the visitors came when a corner wasn't properly cleared and the ball found Scott McKenna just inside the box, the big defender seeing his scooped shot deflected over off McCarthy.
With all the Dons pressure, a Saints goal would have been totally against the run of play – yet one should have come five minutes before the break. Dylan McGeouch was short with a back-pass and it was picked off by Obika who had plenty of time to steady himself as he bent a shot around Joe Lewis only to see it agonisingly hit the post before being hacked to safety. It was the closest either side had come and the Buddies had another chance just before the interval, McCarthy heading a MacPherson free-kick straight at Lewis.
Durmus fired an early sighter well over as hostilities resumed, Lewis then getting down well to save Andreu's shot from the winger's cross. Hladky was barely troubled when Cosgrove's header from a corner found the target before Saints had another chance, Morias' long throw being knocked down to skipper Sam Foley whose volley failed to find the target. Durmus had scored the winner when the sides met in Paisley at the start of the season and he seemed determined to do some more damage, this time curling a shot over the bar from a tight angle.
The visitors hadn't threatened much in the second half but some neat passing found Lewis Ferguson at the edge of the box only for him to shoot wide. Some frantic defending just about got Saints off the hook at a free-kick as Aberdeen pushed on, sub Ryan Hedges lashing a shot wide and Hladky saving Funso Ojo's long range effort. However, while they had plenty of the ball, they created few chances and on the basis of the second half Saints fully deserved their point.
Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Aberdeen
St Mirren: Hladky, Flynn, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, MacPherson, Foley (c), Andreu (Cooke 80), Durmus (P.McGinn 90), Morias, Obika
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Broadfoot, Erhahon, Henderson, Mullen
Aberdeen: Lewis, Logan, McKenna, Taylor, Considine, Ojo, McGeouch (Hedges 72), Ferguson, N.McGinn (Anderson 85), Kennedy, Cosgrove
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Devlin, Campbell, Gallagher, Main
Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Assistant Referee: Ralph Gordon
Fourth Official: Grant Irvine
Attendance: 5,302
Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography
