Fixtures & Results
by Stuart Gillespie at St Mirren Park
To say this game was typical end of season stuff would be an understatement. An intensive debate about the finer points of a hung parliament and the flaws in the election system would almost certainly be a far more stimulating Saturday evening's entertainment when up against the chance to watch Saints losing to Aberdeen again on BBC Alba.
Not even the goal that graced this game was anything to get excited about. Had Darren Mackie's first half volley have gone cleanly past Mark Howard it would have been a reasonable, rather than outstanding strike, but that it needed a major deflection from Lee Mair to find the net pretty much summed up the game.
The defeat marked the fifth year running that Saints have ended with a home defeat, but like the previous four the loss came in a relatively meaningless game - not even Sky would dare trying to hype up "The Battle for 10th". Aside from a Billy Mehmet shot five minutes before the break, there was very little danger of Saints conjuring up an equaliser, despite a triple change on the hour mark that saw the number of strikers in black and white on the park jump from one to four.
The real excitement came at the end, with the various supporters groups presenting their end of season awards, and with the possibility that this was the chance to see a number of Saints players making their last appearances for the Club. The fun came in trying to guess who was staying and who'll be heading off to pastures new.
Andy Dorman returned from injury as Saints reverted to the 4-5-1 formation that served them so well against St Johnstone and Kilmarnock. Steven Thomson was also back from injury, with Hugh Murray and Michael Higdon the pair dropping to the bench. Other starters potentially playing their last Saints game were Mehmet, Stephen O'Donnell, Garry Brady and Steven Robb, with Graham Carey playing the last game of his loan spell. Allan Johnston and Rory Loy also have uncertain futures and were among the subs. Aberdeen boss Mark McGhee has promised big changes at his own club in the summer but still went with a strong team that featured Steven MacLean, Charlie Mulgrew and Gary McDonald - although youngsters Clark Robertson and Doninic Gibson also started.
The latter had a chance to open the scoring early on, but his header from Charlie Mulgrew's corner caused Mark Howard no problems. And that, aside from Jamie Langfield scurrying to clear a goal-bound back-pass and the odd dangerous looking Saints cross into the Aberdeen box that the likes of Mehmet and David Barron were inches from connecting with, was your lot for the first 20 minutes or so.
Mulgrew was getting plenty of abuse - from his own supporters - during the first half, but he almost had them cheering him after 22 minutes when his powerful free-kick was palmed away by Howard. Aberdeen came more into things after that and five minutes later Robertson crossed for Mackie to volley a shot that looked to be going wide before it took a major deflection off of former Dons defender Lee Mair that totally deceived Howard to give Aberdeen the lead. Mair's name was soon being chanted by the visiting support, helping those in the press box who weren't quite sure who the ball had hit on its way into the net.
Saints almost equalised immediately, neat play from Barron and Dorman seeing the latter cross for Mehmet, but his powerful header flashed wide. Saints should have been level with five minutes before the break when O'Donnell burst into the box and had a great chance to shoot before trying to cut back onto his right foot, having switched sides with Carey. The ball trickled away from him but it went to Mehmet who fired in a low shot that Langfield got just enough on to keep it out of the net. Dorman was rather slow to react to the rebound and Richard Foster was able to clear it just before the midfielder could tap it home.
Half-Time: St Mirren 0-1 Aberdeen
The game's two number eights had chances to score early in the second half, Dorman taking advantage of a defensive mix-up to have a shot that was blocked before Mark Kerr's 20-yard effort bobbled into Howard's grasp. There was more frustration from another Dorman cross when Mehmet failed to get enough on it and only succeeded in diverting it away from O'Donnell behind him. A swerving long range effort from Carey soon after didn't have enough power to sufficiently trouble Langfield.
The first changes of the afternoon saw Aberdeen bring on Fraser Fyvie, who has had a superb season, and Michael Paton in place of fellow youngsters Gibson and Robertson. Almost immediately Saints made a triple change, with Brady, Robb and O'Donnell going off - possibly for the final time - and Rory Loy, Craig Dargo and Michael Higdon coming on as Saints boss Gus MacPherson decided to play the final half hour of the season with four strikers on the park, although Mehmet and Loy seemed to be operating on the wings.
It almost worked instantly when Barron crossed for Loy, but his header was straight at Langfield, before Fyvie shot just wide for the Dons. As you'd expect after the changes, Saints were looking much more threatening going forward, but there seemed to be a reluctance to shoot when the strikers managed to get into a good position near the box. Aberdeen's final change saw Davide Grassi come on for Mackie.
A foul near the box is never a good idea when Mulgrew is about and Howard tipped his free-kick over following Carey's foul on Fyvie. A quickly taken corner at the other end gave Carey a chance to redeem himself, but he curled his effort over. The only other chance to snatch a draw came at the start of injury time, but Dargo smashed his volley over.
Time was called soon after, but a healthy number of Saints supporters stayed behind to congratulate David Barron, Paul Gallacher, Billy Mehmet and John Potter on the various awards they had received. The way Mehmet and Andy Dorman saluted the crowd as they left the pitch suggests the futures of these key players lies elsewhere. If they do leave, it creates two huge holes for Gus MacPherson to try to fill in the summer.
Saints fans can once again enjoy their summer in the knowledge they'll be watching SPL football in Paisley next season. The 0-0 draw at Rugby Park means it'll be Kilmarnock, rather than Falkirk, they'll be facing and also means extra income due to finishing 10th.
Full-Time: St Mirren 0-1 AberdeenSt Mirren: Howard, Mair, Potter, Barron, Carey, Dorman, Thomson, O'Donnell (Higdon 61), Brady (Loy 61), Robb (Dargo 61), Mehmet.
Subs Not Used: Murray, McLennan, Johnston, Gallacher (GK).
Aberdeen: Langfield, Mulgrew, Foster, Ifil, Robertson (Fyvie 57), McDonald, Kerr, Duff, MacLean, Mackie (Grassi 71), Gibson (Paton 57).
Subs Not Used: Diamond, Ross, Jack, Nelson (GK).
Referee: Stevie O'Reilly.
Star Saint: Defences were pretty much on top in this game. Lee Mair was solid and unlucky with the deflection while alongside him John Potter put in a decent display and wins the final award of the season.
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