St Johnstone 1 Aberdeen 2: Saints become sinners with a woeful display

Monday 20 August 2012

ST JOHNSTONE really weren't very good on Saturday.

Jonny Hayes scored his first goal for Aberdeen

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Chris Tait

Those words will seem as blunt as the Perth side were while fumbling to defeat by Aberdeen, a result which served chiefly to catalogue the deficiencies that exist within the squad. These were acknowledged tacitly by Steve Lomas afterwards but they had already been laid bare by the emboldened visitors.

It was telling that the St Johnstone manager spent time focusing on what he didn't have – "two or three [more] players" – following this defeat, although his tone suggested he is already aware that such needs will not be satisfied before the transfer window closes. It is easy to sympathise with the Northern Irishman given how enfeebled his side were, particularly in attack, but it is also worth noting that he was without the banned Gregory Tade and Rowan Vine, and new signing Craig Beattie due to illness.Yet Lomas will still look on this display as a worrying portent for the season ahead. After all, he watched as his side were dismantled casually by a team they had finished three places above in the league last season.The roles are likely to be reversed this time around. Whereas Aberdeen showed conviction in their attacks – two of which brought goals from Isaac Osbourne and Jonny Hayes – St Johnstone seemed cowed, their timidity manifesting in the bizarre mix-up between Frazer Wright and goalkeeper Alan Mannus which allowed Hayes to convert his side's second. "That shouldn't happen at this level," said defender Steven Anderson succinctly, his mood scarcely improved by a late consolation goal from Nigel Hasselbaink.That was juxtaposed with the positivity engendered by Aberdeen's performance; the Pittodrie side showing both guile and a means to benefit from it. Hayes was signed with the intention of supplying width and craft this season but the more obtrusive display came from a less established source. Ryan Fraser was not a name which drew too much attention before kick-off but he spent the 78 minutes that followed ensuring he was the main topic of conversation.Nimble and undaunted, his progress will come down to how well he can shoulder the expectation and hype that will bestowed upon him – especially by an Aberdeen support denied much cause for optimism of late – but assurances are already being made as to the teenager's temperament. "Ryan is quite a modest lad," said midfielder Gavin Rae. "All the young players at Aberdeen are brought up the right way."

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St Johnstone 1 Aberdeen 2: Saints become sinners with a woeful display

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