Much to the chagrin of the visiting Aberdeen fans on Saturday afternoon, Sam Cosgrove’s Ballon d’Or may have to wait.
The Pittodrie support enjoyed a tongue-in-cheek ditty for the Englishman who has netted twice in his last two games but the main reason behind the good cheer is that Aberdeen look like a team who are back on song.
Seven wins from their last 10 games has elevated them into fourth spot after a staccato start to the campaign but for St Mirren the number aren’t adding up to anything other than a major headache.
The Paisley side have just two wins to their name this season in the league and although there was very little between the sides on Saturday afternoon St Mirren badly need to start claiming points by any means necessary.
Oran Kearney inherited the squad this summer but with a youthful feel about it, it will be interesting to see if brings in a few experienced heads in the January transfer window that might help him to navigate the choppy waters that lie ahead.
Five things we learned from Paisley on Saturday:
St Mirren need a striker.
Oran Kearney’s side played with heart and spirit despite the frankly hellish conditions but they are badly let down in the final third given their lack of bite up front. Stuck to the bottom of the table, the Paisley side need to start turning hard luck stories like this one into a point here and there. It seems inevitable that there will be a dogfight at the bottom of the table between St Mirren and Dundee and it will come down to who can hold their nerve once the pressure starts to set in. Hamilton too could still end up down there but at the moment have earned themselves a little breathing space.
Aberdeen look like a team on the up. Seven weeks ago Aberdeen were 13 points behind Hearts. A combination of this result and Hearts’ spectacular collapse at Livingston on Friday night means that for the first time this season Aberdeen have gone ahead of the Tynecastle side in the table, albeit on goal difference. Having won seven of their last ten league games, Derek McInnes looks set to get his side finishing the year with a bit of momentum. The Dons boss revealed that he had targeted 9 points from 9 from Saturday’s game against St Mirren, Tuesday night’s game against Dundee and the weekend fixture against Hearts. The goals netted by Stevie May – only his second this term – and Sam Cosgrove’s second in as many games – could alleviate a little of the pressure on that front although McInnes is till liable to head into January with a forward at the top of his list. The Dons boss insisted after the game that he will never berate his strikers for missing chances but they need to be in the right area to get their shot away in the first place. That sloppiness has had a huge part in the early inconsistent form of the season.
The December fixture list is “nuts.”
That was the assessment of McInnes in the aftermath of the game and you would be hard pressed to disagree. Nine domestic games for the Pittodrie side – eight league games added to the League Cup final – means a cluttered fixture list. Oddly, having agreed a deal in principle with Dundee to delay this Wednesday’s game until January when there is more time, the league blocked the move. Having so many games crammed into one month dilutes the quality on offer and short changes everyone. Spreading fixtures more evenly makes more sense particularly in a month where there are demands for finances and time elsewhere.
There is nothing like a freezing afternoon in December when the floodlights were required before kick-off to make one wistful for the idea of summer football. Incessant sleet and freezing rain made for a horrendous viewing experience and ensured that there was very little quality on offer given the treacherous underfoot conditions.
St Mirren’s reserve goalkeeper Dean Lyness. The stopper made his debut on Saturday with this season’s regular custodian, Danny Rogers, ineligible to play against his parent club and although the stats will show that he shipped two goals he put in a decent performance. Had the Saints defence been a little sharper in clearing Andrew Considine’s header that Lyness palmed onto the bar, they would have been able to keep the scores level.
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