WERE it not for bad luck, St Mirren might not have any luck at all. On the back of a trying week off the park, they dominated an Aberdeen side for a second game in succession only to find themselves plopped on to the bottom of the table by the end of play. It can surely only get easier for Jim Goodwin and his players after this.

Ordinarily a draw against Derek McInnes’s side would be considered a decent result for St Mirren but having enjoyed so much possession against a team reduced to 10 men after Lewis Ferguson was sent off early in the second half, this has to go down as a missed opportunity.

With results elsewhere going against them, it had the effect of sending St Mirren into last place. With better finishing it ought to have been a different story.

“I’m really disappointed the result hasn’t gone for us,” added Goodwin. “But I think if we can play to that kind of standard we will win more games than we lose.”

To say that St Mirren have had something of a tough week off the park is a bit like suggesting Santa’s elves are currently putting in a bit of overtime.

News that Police Scotland had been alerted to “possible financial regularities” at the club was followed a day later by the SPFL looking dimly on their poorly-implemented coronavirus protocols and awarding Motherwell and Hamilton Accies 3-0 victories after St Mirren couldn’t fulfil either fixture.

“I’m limited in what I can say and there’s so much more I would love to say,” added Goodwin. “But we are extremely disappointed with the outcome and the board of directors will now decide what our next steps will be. We will fight to hopefully get a better outcome.”

This was another frustrating afternoon for Aberdeen even prior to Ferguson’s dismissal and they were fortunate to escape with a draw, although McInnes was full of praise for his side’s battling display.

“It's a decent point in the circumstances, it has to be,” he admitted. “We came to win the game and made more tackles in the first 10 minutes than we made in the whole first half a week ago. The commitment and spirit of the team was good.”

St Mirren were well on top throughout but couldn’t convert their chances. Dylan Connolly was among the offenders, blazing a shot over when he ought to have hit the target and then being denied by the knees of Joe Lewis.

The goalkeeper had been the fall guy the previous weekend but more than made amends here. He twice thwarted Ilkay Durmus in the first half too, the latter a spectacular volley from the Turk that Lewis did well to push away.

When Aberdeen, then, got their noses in front after 37 minutes it was very much against the run of play. Matty Kennedy swung over the cross and Jonny Hayes did well to get enough power on his header to beat Jak Alwnick.

That must have been soul-destroying for St Mirren given their dominance but by half-time they were level again.

Jon Obika’s pass was blocked in the box by the arm of Tommy Hoban and referee Bobby Madden gave the penalty. McGrath calmly slotted it home.

The task got harder for Aberdeen when they lost Ferguson to a red card after 51 minutes. The midfielder could have no complaints after hauling back Obika to earn a second yellow card, although McInnes evidently didn’t agree as he talked his way into a booking of his own.

St Mirren then spent the rest of the match trying to find a winning goal, utterly dominating possession but not making the most of it.

Cammy MacPherson emerged from the bench to offer another midfield option and soon came close with a long-range free kick that drifted just wide. Another driven effort from the same player was spilled by Lewis who must have been a relieved man to see McGrath fail to turn the loose ball in.

The biggest sinner, though, was Lee Erwin who, with the clock ticking into injury time, somewhat struck his shot against Andy Considine when it looked easier to score.