A stunning second half free-kick from Leighton Clarkson secured all three points for Aberdeen against St Johnstone.
The Perth side toiled to keep it tight against an attack-minded Dons side but were undone by a moment of magic by the on-loan Liverpool star.
Callum Davidson’s men, who lacked a clinical edge in attack, couldn’t find a way back – and fell to 10th place in the Premiership as a result.
Key moments vs Aberdeen
Davidson prizes the solidity his preferred defensive five give St Johnstone when out of possession.
However, early on at McDiarmid Park, home players’ positioning seemed to afford Aberdeen players time and space to orchestrate attacks from 30-40 yards out.
The Dons had the ball in the net through one such move 10 minutes in, but Bojan Miovski’s header was ruled out for offside.
To their credit, Saints got tighter to their opponents higher up the park in the aftermath.
However, a lack of attacking fluency hampered Saints’ efforts in possession, with a series of cross balls and set plays coming to nothing, often with only one or two attacking bodies in the box.
Graham Carey took matters into his own hands before the break, stinging Kelle Roos’ palms with a vicious free-kick when he must have expected another cross.
Disappointingly for Saints fans, that was the pretty much the best of it from their side going forward.
Whether Aberdeen should have been awarded the free-kick from which Leighton Clarkson gave them the lead is up for debate (the experienced Dons star appeared to be halfway to the ground before Carey even got close) but, in the aftermath, St Johnstone struggled to find their way as an attacking force.
They took until 82 minutes to register a second effort on target, when Jamie Murphy tested Roos after dancing past a pair of defenders, but it came to nothing.
St Johnstone star man
Jamie Murphy’s attacking contribution made him a standout performer against Aberdeen.
On a day that was again more about graft than craft for Saints, the former Rangers and Hibs man was, to his credit, a willing creator.
His movement gave Aberdeen something to think about, while his jinking run and shot late on might have nestled in the net had Aberdeen stopper Kelle Roos been less awake to the danger.
St Johnstone player ratings
Matthews 6; Wright 5; McGowan 6 (O’Halloran 84, 3); Mitchell 6; Considine 6; Brown 5; Phillips 5 (Davidson 62, 4); Hallberg 5; Carey 6 (Kucheriavyi 62, 4); Bair 5 (May 62, 4); Murphy 7.
Unused subs: Parish (GK); Gordon; Mahon; Crawford; Ballantyne..
St Johnstone manager under the microscope
How St Johnstone will shape up isn’t much of a mystery these days.
The question is merely who will slot into which position?
Of the possible “unknowns” against the Dons, Theo Bair was chosen to lead the line, while Daniel Phillips, after an impressive debut from the bench at Ibrox, started in the middle of the park alongside Melker Hallberg.
Saints looked solid enough for the most part in the first half but, as an attacking force, were limited to hopeful crosses and set-plays.
After falling behind, Davidson threw on Max Kucheriavyi, Murray Davidson and Stevie May for Phillips, Carey and Bair, with Hallberg pushed forward into a more attacking role.
It made little difference to the pattern of the game, with the Dons, who pushed for a second goal to kill the game, continuing to look the more controlled, dangerous outfit.
Michael O’Halloran appeared wide on the right late on but, more often than not, found himself pressed into defensive action.
Finding a way to combine attacking impetus with defensive solidity appears to be the Holy Grail for Davidson – and it was not found against Aberdeen.
Man in the middle vs Aberdeen
Craig Napier took a hard line towards anything even verging on physical play by St Johnstone from the start.
Four Perth players – Andy Considine, Melker Hallberg, Daniel Phillips and Graham Carey – had bookings to their names inside 50 minutes.
Carey was given a final warning for expressing his displeasure after Jonny Hayes appeared to go down somewhat easily to win the free-kick from which they went ahead.
His card-happy first-half approach impacted on Saints in the second half, with Carey and Phillips both withdrawn.
An over-zealous afternoon from the whistler.
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