A GOAL in arrears away from home, having lost a shabby opener and spurned a wealth of chances, you would perhaps have expected the Aberdeen dressing room to have been a despondent place at the interval.

Not at all, according to Craig Brown. "I told them we were a better team than Kilmarnock and that they should go out and prove it," said the manager, in trying to explain how an outcome that appeared unthinkable at the break was emphatic 45 minutes later.

The Pittodrie side are now unbeaten in 10 matches in all competitions, only Celtic having defeated them this term, and have moved to within a point of the SPL summit after a victory that spoke of their resolve, desire and, belatedly, a clinical mentality when presented with opportunities. Yet for all that Brown has assembled a side characterised by experience and physicality – "We're solid and keep the ball well. We're not brilliant but we'll get better," he said – it was two of their younger, more lightweight performers that made the most decisive interventions.

Much of the talk surrounding Ryan Fraser has been of the means to which defenders have resorted in their attempts to contain him, but even though both Ryan O'Leary and Liam Kelly were cautioned for clumsy, rather than malicious challenges on the youngster, his influence, and that of Niall McGinn, was telling.

With the pair switching flanks, they posed plenty of problems in the inside forward channels, even if their first-half efforts went unrewarded. McGinn lashed over the crossbar inside the opening minute; Scott Vernon's flashing header from a Fraser cross was straight at Kyle Letheren; the young winger had a free-kick shovelled clear; and Gavin Rae slipped a shot wide after a smart combination between the two wide players. He would soon make amends.

Within seconds of the second half beginning, Rae seized upon a slack header from Michael Nelson to breenge past the defender and rattle a low shot past Letheren.

Nine minutes later, Aberdeen went ahead. Fraser escaped down the left, cut inside and flighted in a delivery that Letheren seemed to lose in the glare of the sun, and McGinn darted in front of the hesitant goalkeeper to nudge into the empty net.

"Niall's away to Portugal with Northern Ireland this week to show Cristiano Ronaldo how to play," Brown said. "And Ryan is away with the Scotland Under-19s even though he could actually do with a rest. But it's great to see young talent coming through."

That the visitors further embroidered a fine second half by scoring in stoppage-time when Vernon exchanged passes with McGinn before angling a delightful finish away from Letheren only added to Kilmarnock's frustration.

Kenny Shiels' side had established an advantage inside three minutes, but struggled to create openings thereafter against a defence that have conceded just eight goals in their 11 matches to date, three of those in one game.

Cillian Sheridan was splendidly marshalled by Russell Anderson and Mark Reynolds and with the threat of James Dayton quelled by Ryan Jack, and Gary Harkins somewhat subdued, the hosts had to rely on outrageous fortune, as well as patient passing, for their early marker.

Proving there is more than one way to exploit a corner, Dayton, Ryan McKeown and Danny Racchi combined to great effect to create a shooting opportunity for Harkins. His rasping drive was beaten out by Jamie Langfield, but the ball cannoned against the knee of a startled O'Leary and soared high over the horrified goalkeeper and into the net.

Beyond that, it was a struggle for Kilmarnock. Inert in the opening half, they roused themselves after the interval, with Harkins twice drawing relatively comfortably saves from Langfield, Dayton also testing the goalkeeper and Nelson volleying wide after a corner.

But a second goal was not forthcoming. "We have two or three off today and we're not good enough to carry two or three," Shiels said. "A stupid mistake allowed Aberdeen to equalise and when teams are so close and games turn on such marginal things, the team that get the breaks usually win."