THERE were two teams going in different directions at Pittodrie yesterday.

Aberdeen went joint top and St Mirren went joint bottom. This was entirely appropriate considering few who witnessed the match could argue there wasn't the length of the division between the teams.

It seemed to have faltered with a couple of draws in mid-January, but Aberdeen's pursuit of their first top league title in almost 30 years suddenly seems pregnant with hope as they prepare for the visit to Celtic Park on Sunday. They have quietly gone 13 matches unbeaten in the league since conceding a last minute Virgil van Dijk goal to go down 2-1 here in November, and their last three league matches have now harvested 10 goals without reply. Perhaps most importantly, they have a week clear to prepare for the match, a period of time which will see Celtic take on Hamilton Accies today then travel to Italy for an almighty second leg confrontation with Internazionale.

Derek McInnes refused to claim that as an advantage last night, but Ash Taylor will be fit again by then, as will Nicky Low, and the Aberdeen boss is convinced his side are getting stronger with each passing week.

If Aberdeen are to complete mission improbable, few will have played a bigger role than Adam Rooney. A couple of goals from the Irishman yesterday moved him onto 23 for the season in all competitions, the 13 which have arrived in league matches enough to see him assume outright leadership in the SPFL top scorer's stakes. Typically, he went off into the night chastising himself for failing to score more.

"They have two big games now and they'll be travelling a bit which will make it difficult for them," said Rooney. "But we'll just look after ourselves. If we play like we can, we know we're capable of beating anyone. Having won there last season gives you belief."

It took only a matter of seconds yesterday for Kenny McLean to be reacquainted with Jim Goodwin. The 23-year-old, who left St Mirren for Aberdeen in return for £300,000 during the January transfer window, lined up in a central role off the front, which put him in close proximity to Goodwin's deep midfield beat, and it didn't take long for the Irishman to lay a marker down.

In addition to some stubborn challenges, and the absence of one of this season's key men, Jonny Hayes, to injury, the home side also had a bumpy home pitch to contend with. It was as if Derek McInnes had been so appalled by the League Cup semi-final defeat to Dundee United on a rutted Hampden pitch that he has attempted to recreate such conditions on his own patch.

But the factors pitted against the home side only made this a more impressive display. Aberdeen were bright and inventive from the outset, McLean just out of reach of a Ryan Jack cross as early as the second minute.

Lord knows how many Rooney would have his wrongly disallowed goals were allowed to stand. Having twice gone close twice in the early stages, there were echoes of Hamilton last week - when he was deprived a goal which clearly bounced over the line - about the incident which saw the Dons take the lead on 22 minutes. Found by a fine McLean corner, his header was hacked clear by St Mirren's Lewis McLear from the proximity of the line. A controversy might have ensued had Andrew Considine not nodded Peter Pawlett's resultant cross back into the area, and Rooney been alert enough to prod it over the line.

Chances for Yoann Arquin and John McGinn punctuated a brief St Mirren revival but McLean, Pawlett and Niall McGinn all peppered Mark Ridgers' goal before the break and 90 seconds after the restart this game was beyond St Mirren. The excellent McGinn levered over a cross from the left, McLean unselfishly nodded it back into the area, and Rooney kept his wits about him to cushion the ball with his chest before steering in from close range.

The only surprise when the third goal came was that Rooney wasn't the scorer. The Irishman's hopes of a hat-trick would eventually disappear when being replaced by Lawrence Shankland, but the game was made safe when McGinn, who had gone close with a lob and a right-foot shot, sent over a deep corner and skipper Mark Reynolds climbed highest to direct it in at the far post.

"We were on the back foot from the first minute," a downbeat John McGinn said afterwards, with only a three-way death-struggle with Ross County and Motherwell to look forward to. "I was left wing but I ended up playing left back most of the game trying to stop Shay Logan. They're a brilliant team, full of good players, and they've added another brilliant player in Kenny McLean as well. You see the subs they're bringing on - no disrespect to our lads on the bench but it's a much higher calibre they're calling on. It's tough when you're coming in every week after a defeat and hearing on the Tannoy one of your rivals has picked up three points."

Aberdeen (4-2-3-1): Brown; Logan, Daniels, Reynolds, Considine; Jack, Flood (Robson 85); Pawlett (Goodwillie 68), McLean, McGinn; Rooney (Shankland 78). Subs not used: Langfield, Smith, Robertson, Shaughnessy

St Mirren (4-1-4-1): Ridgers; Naismith, McAusland (Baird 54), Tesselaar, Kelly; Goodwin; Dayton (Sonupe 82), Mallan, McLear (Wylde 61), McGinn; Arquin. Subs not used: Kello, Thompson, Osbourne, Gow

Referee: K Clancy Att: 14,720