Aberdeen 1 - 1 St Mirren: Dons fail again on league duty

DESPITE some great cup progress, Jimmy Calderwood believes the league is a barometer of Aberdeen's season. No pressure then: see off St Mirren and rise to the right end of the table.

This is Aberdeen we're talking about. And so, the slayers of Celtic were stumped by St Mirren. Andy Dorman put the visitors ahead with a super shot. Lee Mair levelled with a good header. St Mirren's David Barron left the pitch for a second booking. Aberdeen departed the park to some booing.

"We were poor," said Calderwood and nobody tried to shout him down. "St Mirren worked their socks off and we never took the chance to get nearer to Falkirk. Although we still have a slight chance of reaching the top six, we just can't get any consistency."

The St Mirren manager was more chipper. "Over the piece, we're happy with a point at Pittodrie," said Gus MacPherson. "We worked extremely hard and merited it."

Aberdeen have a Scottish Cup semi-final with Queen of the South to look forward to but too often their league campaign has been marked by dread. This was the first of three matches they really needed to be winning, before the not-so-scintillating split. They are capable when the right team turns up. When the wrong Dons appear it goes awry. It is either the best of times or it is the worst of times in the north-east; Bayern Munich or bloody mince.

St Mirren – smarting after their cup disappointment against St Johnstone – wasted no time in forcing themselves in front – and through an expected source. Dorman popped up in the Aberdeen box and Aberdeen did not want that kind of thing happening. Before they could do anything about it, the able midfielder had taken a lovely touch and lodged the ball past Derek Soutar. The midweek high of Celtic Park, a weekend low for the Dons.

For St Mirren this was the perfect pick-me-up. But their goalkeeper Chris Smith was picking the ball out of his net on the half-hour mark. He had already made a couple of saves to keep Aberdeen at bay, but his defenders did next to nothing when Barry Nicholson belted in a fairly wicked corner. Mair leapt to direct his header over the line.

The teams cancelled out each other until half-time and then re-emerged in search of a winner. Aberdeen spent lots of time in St Mirren territory but struggled to gain an advantage. Not many attempts on goal at either end. Withstanding the fare and the cold spoke volumes for the willpower of the supporters. An Aberdeen free-kick crashed off a St Mirren wall. The home players complained their opponents had stolen a yard or two. Gripping stuff.

Barron was booked for a clumsy challenge on Lee Miller. This was to prove significant. Scott Severin had a crack at goal but the Dons captain produced a wild and deeply unattractive hook. Barron was given his marching orders when he turned angry and flung the ball out of his pram and at Severin.

With the last minutes ticking away, along with the home fans' collective patience, St Mirren almost snatched the lead again. The ball arrived in the home box and substitute Stewart Kean – a first-half replacement for Billy Mehmet – was lightning quick, flicking a shot towards the corner, but the save from Soutar was excellent. Snow fell as Aberdeen defended a Dorman corner and Nicholson headed clear. Aberdeen tried to catch St Mirren on the break but it amounted to nothing.

Severin flew in a cross from the right but Miller just could not get there ahead of Smith who collected safely. One point seemed to be in the bag for each team and nothing more. There was a minor drama in the St Mirren box as Miller tried to do something of note, but Will Haining got in his way. Nicholson attempted the follow-up but was denied by Smith. Three minutes of injury time were declared – and the Aberdeen supporters were grumbling. Not for the first time since three o'clock.

Aberdeen substitute Josh Walker forced a cross and Darren Mackie flicked on. The ball fell to Severin but he was too surprised to make the most of it. Jackie McNamara launched a drive from distance, but it was blocked, and that was that. The final whistle blew and many of the supporters booed. It was an afternoon of perseverance, rather than anything else. There were moments but they were few and far between.

Aberdeen remain off the pace. Lucky they're up for the cups.