Aberdeen’s bubble appears to have well and truly burst as they could only claim a point at home to St Johnstone.
It wasn’t the most entertaining of starts to the match with no shots on goal from either side after around 20 minutes of play.
Aberdeen had plenty of the ball during that period but St Johnstone’s defensive shape made it difficult for the home side to penetrate through.
However, it was the Perth Saints who broke the deadlock thanks to Aberdeen being the makers of their own downfall.
Sivert Heltne Nilsen was careless in possession and the ball was then played out wide to St Johnstone’s Matt Smith, who fired in a cross that deflected off James McGarry.
The ball kindly fell to Makenzie Kirk inside the area and he was ruthless in his finish to make it 1-0 against the run of play.
Aberdeen appeared to look devoid of ideas and kept giving the ball back to St Johnstone, who were able to play some nice football in spells.
Jimmy Thelin made three changes at half-time to attempt sparking his team into life – and thankfully for a disgruntled home support, it worked.
Duk was one who came on and it was his good work on the left that produced Aberdeen’s equaliser. The Cape Verde star raced to the byline and cut back for Leighton Clarkson inside the box, who finished well from close range.
It was all Aberdeen after the interval with St Johnstone only enjoying brief moments of pressure up the other end of the park.
But the visitors began to grow into the contest again and probably had the best chance of the second-half when Ross Doohan made a fantastic save to deny Adama Sidibeh.
Aberdeen huffed and puffed but could not carve out enough chances to trouble the Saints, who move onto 14 points in the Premiership. The Dons stay in second but are now nine points behind Celtic.
Careless Aberdeen now winless in five
Aberdeen fans were left frustrated throughout this encounter and the boos that rang around Pittodrie at half-time was emblematic of that.
The Dons were largely wasteful in possession and failed to test St Johnstone goalkeeper Joshua Rae too often – they had just two shots on target.
For the most part, very little clicked for Aberdeen in the final third and while the substitutes at the interval gave them a bit of life, it wasn’t enough to win the game.
Thelin threw everything at St Johnstone from an attacking sense from his bench but the Perth Saints held firm.
Aberdeen just seemed a bit leggy this afternoon and perhaps the exertions in midweek against Celtic were to blame for that.
Jack Milne and Leighton Clarkson impress
Despite Aberdeen not being at their best, 21-year-old Jack Milne and the creative Leighton Clarkson were positives for Thelin’s men.
Milne started in place of Nicky Devlin at right-back and did not look out of place one bit. He was tidy on the ball and got forward well too, before receiving a standing ovation when he was subbed off in the second-half.
Clarkson’s goal earned Aberdeen a point on the day but his general play on the ball was lovely to watch. His passing range is superb and he made Aberdeen tick whenever they were on top.
St Johnstone worthy of their point
Simo Valakari’s impact on this team becomes clearer and clearer by the week.
His possession-based football was easy on the eye at Pittodrie and it helped them relieve any pressure Aberdeen put on them across the game.
They frustrated Aberdeen in the first-half with a solid shape but were able to get forward via the likes of Benjamin Kimpioka and Makenzie Kirk – both were impressive throughout.
Kimpioka was sharp and lively and held the ball up well for his team, while the goal-scorer Kirk is definitely one for the future.