ABERDEEN’S lack of recent success in Perth continued yesterday as they failed to get their league campaign off to a winning start.
They have only recorded one win in their last seven visits to McDiarmid Park but there were mitigating circumstances, not least the bitter disappointment of tumbling out of Europe last week.
They were also missing the ingenuity of winger Johnny Hayes who will not play again until September as a result of a hamstring injury.
However, it was still a frustrating day for the 3000-strong Red Army who would have expected a lot more from their side in an attacking sense.
Indeed, if Graeme Cummins had been sharper in front of goal it would have been another black day against Saints but thankfully for Aberdeen he squandered two excellent opportunities.
Manager Derek McInnes admitted: “That was a game we might have lost last season, getting pushed about and losing a goal.
“So the clean sheet pleases me. The way we stood up physically pleases me. We’re just bemoaning the fact that we missed a wee bit of quality in the final third.
“The approach of the players was exactly what it needed to be. It got us the point.
“We came for all three and were the better team. But we possibly didn’t do enough to get all three.
“Somebody like Jonny Hayes is very important for that. He is the type of player who could maybe have unlocked the door for us.”
The Dons were knocked out of the Europa League last Thursday in agonising circumstances as they missed a penalty against Maribor that, if converted, would have taken them through and they lost a disastrous late own goal.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the players for recovering from that,” said McInnes.
“We got to our beds at four in the morning on Friday. We then recovered Friday afternoon, brought them in again Saturday and travelled down to Dundee – and the SPFL give us an early kick-off, so we’re grateful for that.”
Aberdeen enjoyed most of the ball but they were too obvious and pedantic when they reached the last third, even if Wes Burns looked lively and both Jayden Stockley and Miles Storey worked hard.
Their best opportunity came in 34 minutes when Stockley cleverly laid off Graeme Shinnie’s cross into the path of Ryan Jack who struck a decent enough shot from the edge of the box but Alan Mannus was right behind it.
Conversely, St Johnstone had two excellent chances which they probably should have converted.
Aberdeen did not match Bran Easton’s run down the left in 13 minutes and Graeme Cummins connected with his low ball into the box but it was straight at Joe Lewis.
In 42 minutes the Dons failed to properly clear Liam Craig’s corner giving Danny Swanson a clear sight of goal but his powerful shot was too close to Lewis whose save looked more spectacular than it actually was.
Cummins missed an even better opportunity four minutes into the second half. Blair Alston’s ball in from the right was hit back across goal by Swanson and the Saints strike completely missed the ball allowing a very relieved Mannus to save easily.
The galling aspect for the sizeable travelling support was that Aberdeen failed to really trouble the Saints defence until the very end of the match.
There was a half chance for Andy Considine in 69 minutes when he swung his right boot at a ball into the box from Anthony O’Connor but the shot flew straight at Mannus.
And it was not until the 86th minute that the Saints keeper really had to earn his corn when he threw himself to his left to keep out Ryan Jack’s header following a good ball in from Kenny McLean.
Indeed, Saints might have pinched the win in the final minute when Murray Davidson nearly got on the end of Steven Anderson’s header across goal but Joe Lewis bravely plucked the ball out of the air as he collided with the midfielder.
Manager Tommy Wright said: "It's a good point for us because if you're not going to win make sure you get a point - and we did that.
"There are aspects of our game we can do better but then the quality of the opposition makes it more difficult.”
ST JOHNSTONE: Mannus; Shaughnessy, Anderson. Scobbie, Easton; Alston (Wotherspoon 67), Davidson, Craig, Swanson; Cummins (Kane (64), MacLean (Coulson 84).
Not used: Clark, McKay, Paton, Comrie.
Booked: Craig
ABERDEEN: Lewis; Logan, O’Connor, Reynolds, Considine; \Jack, McLean, Shinnie; Burns (McGinn 66), Stockley, Storey (Rooney 66).
Not used: Alexander. Morris, Storie, McKenna, Wright.
Booked: None
Referee: Willie Collum
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