His players may have been distracted by the prospect of his departure last month but Derek McInnes got all the evidence he needed that their minds are right back on their jobs as they brushed aside their hosts at McDiarmid Park last night.
They were up against opponents who are traditionally among the toughest teams in the country to beat, but whose home form that has deserted them as they have fail to win in five matches at McDiarmid Park, scoring just one goal in those matches, which was perhaps a factor in another meagre turn-out. Fewer than 3000 were in the ground, more than 1000 of them having followed the away team down the east coast and few of the locals in attendance will be working too hard to persuade friends and neighbours to accompany them next time around on the basis of this performance.
Aberdeen were dominant from the off, albeit they were almost caught out when Joe Shaughnessy dispossessed Stevie May just inside the visitors’ half and released Stefan Scougall. He cut it back to Murray Davidson whose first shot was blocked and while he reacted quickly to the rebounding ball second attempt knocked the ball just wide of Lewis’s left post. The Dons continued to have the better of the game, though and in 19 minutes deservedly opened the scoring, Graeme Shinnie initially finding Adam Rooney in space on the left 16 yards out and the striker working a neat one-two with Greg Stewart, striking the ball cleanly with his second touch to leave Clark flailing as the ball was diverted inside his right post.
They could and should have had a second when Ryan Christie sliced the defence open with a left footed pass that was judged perfectly for May to run onto and he struck his first time shot well, but fractionally too high, the ball rebounding off the bar with Clark again well beaten. However, they did consolidate their advantage in 32 minutes from a corner on the left. May fired it towards the near post where, in contesting the ball, Scougall only managed to deflect it over his goal-keeper towards the back post where Kari Aranson had only to make contact to head it over the line.
Saints should have pulled one back in 41 minutes when David Wotherspoon knocked into the path of Stevie MacLean inside the six yard box, but he was unable to squeeze the ball past Lewis and as the half moved into injury time the goal-keeper was forced to dive to his left to deny a decent Michael O’Halloran strike.
Aberdeen could have wrapped the match up early in the second half gone when Christie produced another defence splitter to find Shay Logan in space on the right and his cross found Greg Stewart volleyed wildly over the bar. Rooney was then gifted another chance to make a commanding lead unassailable when Graham Cummins’ ill-judged header from the edge of his own penalty area played the striker onside 12 yards out with only Clark to beat, but he, too, failed to get over his shot.
The third goal felt inevitable, though and duly arrived in 58 minutes after Wotherspoon had hauled Stewart down 25 yards out to the right of centre. Stewart got involved in the defensive wall and as they battled for position Christie’s left-footed strike caught a shoulder, the deflection sending the ball curving past Clark on his right.
St Johnstone: Z Clark, R Foster, J Shaughnessy, S Anderson, R. Foster, S Tanser, M Davidson (G Cummins 24), D Wotherspoon (B Alston 76), P Paton, S Scougall (C Thomson 62), M O’Halloran, S MacLean
Aberdeen: J Lewis, S Logan, K Aranson, S McKenna, G Shinnie, A O’Connor, K McLean, R Christie, G Stewart (G MacKay-Steven 71), S May (A Considine 59), A Rooney (N Maynard 76)
Referee: A Muir
Attendance: 2911
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