Aberdeen 0-0 St Johnstone: Winless Saints earn draw
- Published
Andy Considine's own goal was ruled out as Luis 'Duk' Lopes was judged to be interfering from an offside position
Manager Steven MacLean says teams will need to watch out for winless St Johnstone rising up the Scottish Premiership table after a battling draw against Aberdeen in grim conditions at Pittodrie.
The Perth side, already adrift at the bottom, had the better of the first hour but could not create enough clear opportunities, with Graham Carey's two efforts over and Luke Jephcott's blocked shot as close as they came.
Aberdeen, who toiled for long spells as they opted for a direct approach, did have the ball in the net just before half-time, but Andy Considine's own goal was ruled out after a VAR check as Luis 'Duk' Lopes was judged to be offside and interfering with play.
Bojan Miovski also had a fantastic chance to break the deadlock in the second half, but having done the hard work fired his shot over the bar from inside the area.
That miss - and substitutes Leighton Clarkson and Dante Polvara - sparked some life into Aberdeen in the final quarter, but they could not find the goal which would have moved them up to fourth place.
Instead, Barry Robson's side stay in eighth, while St Johnstone remain at the foot of the table with just four points and three goals from their opening eight matches.
"There is a good side in there, I'm happy with my squad now," MacLean told BBC Scotland.
"We're going to get better, we're going to keep improving and teams will need to watch us coming up the table. I know we haven't won a game yet, but we're getting there and we will win games.
"We're a team in transition, but we're getting players back, I'm getting options. I keep saying it, but we're going to get on that run soon and we'll win games."
Player of the match - Dara Costelloe
Dara Costelloe was lively and direct for St Johnstone, particularly in the first half.
Aberdeen struggle, positive signs for Saints - analysis
Aberdeen seem to have a problem in games where they are expected to dominate and win.
Where they are underdogs, Robson's side are comfortable defending and hitting teams effectively on the break. That was ably demonstrated by last week's 3-1 win against Rangers at Ibrox.
But aside from the 4-0 home win against Ross County, they have looked strangely subdued in the league.
Despite the quality they have in midfield with Connor Barron, Jamie McGrath, Graeme Shinnie, and Clarkson, they choose to by-pass them regularly with ineffective long balls up to Miovski and Duk.
The wing-backs struggle to influence the game in the opposition's half, which means they are narrow and easy to defend. They rallied at the end but it came too late.
A clean sheet and a fifth game unbeaten are positives, but fans expect better at home against a team with one win in 11 games.
Having said that, this performance suggested there could be brighter times ahead for St Johnstone. They won the midfield battle and passed the ball neatly for the first hour, in contrast to Aberdeen.
Jephcott and Dara Costelloe looked tidy and linked well, but there was simply not enough quality in the final third.
Just three goals in eight games in the league tells its own story. For all their tidy play in the first hour they didn't register a shot on target.
MacLean and his team will take the point on the road, but that first win needs to come swiftly before they become adrift at the bottom.
What they said
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson: "First half I thought we were very sluggish, it was quite a poor game, neither team brought anything to it. Second half I thought we were a different team all together.
"We managed to speak to them at half-time, tweak a few things here and there and we should have come away with two or three goals, probably.
"You're not going to get better chances than we did. We controlled the whole second half."
St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean: "First half I thought we were the better team by quite some distance, it was just that final act.
"Second half, I knew Aberdeen would throw it at us, but I thought we defended our box really well."
What's next?
Aberdeen host Dundee in the Scottish Premiership after the international break (18:00 BST), with St Johnstone at home to Motherwell on the same day (15:00).
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