St Mirren 1-0 Aberdeen: Hosts claim first league win

St Mirren claimed their first Scottish Premiership win of the season with a dogged performance against blunt Aberdeen.

On a miserable day in Paisley Jim Goodwin's side frustrated their visitors with a solitary goal from Ilkay Durmus.

Derek McInnes' side struggled without striker Sam Cosgrove but had a strong second-half penalty claim denied.

Niall McGinn struck the post with just injury time left to play.

The results pushes St Mirren up to fifth in the league table as Aberdeen also sit on three points.

• Reaction & as it happened

Aberdeen's slump continues

After a gruelling 2-0 defeat to HNK Rijeka in Croatia just three days earlier, McInnes' side would have been hoping for a more comfortable afternoon in Paisley. However, what they ended up getting was the complete opposite.

St Mirren had already shown signs of improvement the week before in a narrow 1-0 defeat to Hibs and when the whistle sounded to kick things off, it was Goodwin's side that took the initiative.

The breakthrough came just 13 minutes in to a wet and windy match when Kyle Magennis galloped down the right flank before cutting the ball across the Aberdeen box to an unmarked Durmus. The Turkish winger didn't wait around and calmly slotted the ball in to the corner of the net with his first touch.

With a goal in hand, St Mirren sat back and allowed Aberdeen to play in front of them for the remainder of the half. Yet, to the immense frustration of the Dons manager and fans alike, the travelling side's best chance came from a long-distance shot from Ryan Hedges that caused little bother for St Mirren keeper Vaclav Hladky.

Aberdeen were much better in the second half when the weather seemed to subside and possession took on a more threatening tone. Curtis Main fired a shot from distance just five minutes after the break, followed by a Lewis Ferguson header from close range five minute after that which forced an immediate save from Hladky.

The travelling side's best chance of a breakthrough came in the 62nd minute when a cross from Hedges smashed off the hand of Ryan Flynn in the St Mirren box, suggesting a clear penalty was on the way. However, referee Steven McLean saw nothing of it and waved play on despite clear protests from the Aberdeen players.

As the Dons grew increasingly desperate in the latter stages of the game, space began to appear for St Mirren to exploit and a cross from Paul McGinn almost drew a line under proceedings with 13 minutes to go when it connected with Tony Andreu's shoulder and bounced inches wide of the far post.

In the dying moments Aberdeen's frustration was compounded further. A hopeful cross into the box from Andrew Considine found McGinn at the back post with all the time and space to win his side a point, yet the winger swung at it desperately and watched the shot ricochet off the post.

Rash, desperate and ultimately not good enough, much like Aberdeen on the day.

Man of the match - Gary Mackenzie

BBC Scotland's Chick Young at The Simple Digital Arena

All the man of the match candidates in this game were in St Mirren's black and white. Ryan Flynn in the middle of the park, big Jon Obika - an immediate cult hero with the support - and goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky were terrific.

But centre half Gary Mackenzie was Saints' giant in so many ways as he was at the tail end of last season. Just one thing though. The rolled up shorts tucked into the under slip players wear is not a good look.

'I'm just glad we were able to hang on and get all three points' - reaction

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "We needed players in and it didn't quite happen as quick as we would have liked but the new faces have come in and added quality. The pleasing thing for me is that they're taking on board what I'm asking them to do in training.

"I'm sure Derek [McInnes] will be disappointed but Aberdeen are a terrific side and are still involved in Europe next week. We wish them well. I'm just glad we were able to hang on and get all three points."

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "When you try and freshen the team up sometimes after an away European game, you're hoping you can get that freshness and impetus from the ones who come in.

"One or two maybe a looked a bit sluggish, like they needed the game, which goes against what you're trying to do. But you're trying to keep a squad happy and give everybody the opportunity, and I think one or two never quite took their opportunity. Second-half, we were relentless with our work, but it wasn't to be."