ST MIRREN 2 ABERDEEN 0 Saturday 4 April 2026 SPFL Premiership The SMISA Stadium Attendance: 7,653 Referee: Nick Walsh
The Dons were second best for much of the 90 minutes in the pouring rain in Paisley, slumping to deserved defeat to St. Mirren.
Returning to action after the international break, the Dons made five changes to the side that lost at Ibrox. Dimitar Mitov, Dylan Lobban, Ante Palaversa and Kevin Nisbet were on the bench, with Dennis Geiger out injured. In came skipper Graeme Shinnie, Per Kristian Bratveit, Alexander Jensen, Topi Keskinen and Marko Lazetic. Elvis Bwomono was on the bench after joining Aberdeen this week.
St Mirren won 2-1 at Falkirk in the final game before the break, and they made three changes, with Scott Tanser, Dan Nlundulu and Jake Young on the bench, replaced by Mikael Mandron, Jonah Ayunga and Declan John.
It was a packed house at a blustery, soggy SMISA Stadium, St. Mirren making a swift start, winning three corners in quick succession in the first three minutes. The Dons defended them well, Bratveit pushing the middle one over the bar as Donnelly won the header.
Aberdeen could barely get out of their own half in the first 10 minutes and another dangerous corner to the near post saw Donnelly get his head on his first, his powerful header flicking off the top of the bar and over. On 12, a free-kick routine culminated in Gogic glancing a header across goal and just wide.
Liam Morrison was forced to head an Ayunga effort behind in the 20th minute as the Buddies continued to dominate possession and territory, Freckleton heading wide from the flag kick.
A great run from Shinnie caused panic in the St Mirren box after 25 minutes, skipping past three challenges on the left and along the by-line. He threaded a low cross through the six-yard box, but there was nobody in a red shirt to take advantage as George got a faint touch on it. Kenan Bilalovic was booked for delaying a free-kick a couple of minutes later.
St. Mirren should have been in front after 33 minutes, Donnelly given a free header six yards out but somehow he managed to put his header wide of the target from the centre of the goal. Morrison went in the book in the 39th minute for a foul on Mandron.
St, Mirren were ahead a minute later, and it was no more than they deserved. The Dons couldn’t fully clear a set piece, Ayunga collecting the ball on the edge of the penalty area. He drifted inside from the left, past Jensen and Afeez Aremu, and drilled a low shot from 20 yards beyond Morrison’s lunge, past Bratveit’s dive and in.
Lazetic was the third Aberdeen man to be booked for a high boot in a challenge with Campbell after 44 minutes. Ayunga followed him in for a lunge on Keskinen.
HALF-TIME: ST. MIRREN 1 ABERDEEN 0
There were three changes for the Dons at the break, Lazetic, Keskinen and Bilalovic replaced by Nisbet, Stuart Armstrong and Tosin Olusanya.
There was an instant improvement, Emmanuel Gyamfi having a shot deflected wide in the 47th minute, Olusanya not far away from turning it past George.
Phillips and John were replaced by Tanser and Nlundulu for St Mirren after 59 minutes. Shinnie made way for Lyall Cameron in the 65th minute. He immediately slung in a corner that St Mirren struggled to clear. There was a VAR check for handball, which was turned down but the Dons also won a free-kick on the edge of the box as a consequence. Nisbet’s effort from 25 yards was blocked by the wall. The striker again appealed for handball, but again nothing given. The Buddies than replaced Ayunga with Richardson.
Cameron produced another good delivery on 75 to find Milne, but his header back across goal went well wide of the target. The central defender had time and space. Aberdeen were at least competitive in this second half, but had found nothing to trouble George in the St. Mirren goal, the keeper quick off his line to boot clear as Olusanya chased a long ball in the 77th minute.
Olusanya then had a good chance from eight yards in the 79th minute, coming on to a second ball, but he popped his header over the bar. It was a difficult chance but he will be disappointed not to have hit the target. Lobban replaced Jensen immediately afterwards.
It was to no avail for on 83, St. Mirren were 2-0 up. Tander played a corner into the middle of the area, on the edge of the six-yard box, and from there, Gogic was give the freedom to rise above the red shirts and plant a header into the net.
The last chance of salvaging anything disappeared in the 90th minute, Nisbet firing over the bar from a dozen yards out.
Another very poor performance on the road sees the Dons heading towards the danger zone with six games to go.
STATS
St. Mirren: George, Gogic, Freckleton, Donnelly, Devaney, O’Hara, Phillips (Tanser 59), Campbell, John (Nlundulu 59), Mandron, Ayunga (Richardson 68).
Subs not used: Mullen, King, Idowu, McMenamin, Young, Etete.
Goal: Ayunga (40), Gogic (83).
Booked: Ayunga.
Aberdeen: Bratveit, Jensen (Lobban 80), Milne, Morrison, Molloy, Gyamfi, Shinnie (Cameron 65), Aremu, Keskinen (Armstrong 46), Bilalovic (Olusanya 46), Lazetic (Nisbet 46).
Subs not used: Mitov, Palaversa, Bwomono, Kjartansson.
Booked: Bilalovic, Morrison, Lazetic.
