Sone Aluko (15 mins)
Lee Miller (83 mins)
Liam Craig (76 mins)
Clydesdale Bank Premier League
, Nov 7, 2009
Ground: Pittodrie Stadium
, Kickoff: 14:00 , Att 10,894
Team news
McGhee in referee plea Mark McGhee is hoping for a more "tolerant" referee for their Clydesdale Bank Premier League game against St Johnstone after the performance of match official Steven Nicholls dominated last week's defeat at Hibernian.
Nicholls' display proved to be the biggest talking point of the day when he showed red cards to Maurice Ross and Chris Maguire and cautioned six other players as the Dons ended the match with nine men.
McGhee admits the referee did stick to the letter of the law but has called for more common sense in future, with Euan Norris set to take control of their match with Saints on Saturday.
"I think the referee was entitled within the rules to interpret all the bookings the way he did," he said.
"Technically speaking, all of them could have been bookings and therefore he was entitled to send players off.
"What I would hope was that referees would look at it slightly differently and would be less inclined to book for such trivial and petty challenges.
"I hope for a more tolerant kind of referee, that's what I would hope for." Speaking ahead of the visit of Saints, McGhee added "They've found their feet and they believe they can win games now at this level.
"Physically, they are really competing well and they are not going to be messed about by anyone.
"They have one or two players who can cause you a problem and who are good players and we are going to have to be as up for it as we were in that last half hour at Easter Road but start to take our chances." St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes has played down the prospect of easing into a top-six spot.
The Clydesdale Bank Premier League new boys will complete the first quarter of the campaign against the Dons and if they pick up three points, and other results go their way, they will climb in to the top half of the table.
McInnes told Press Association Sport that it is too early to read anything into league placings but admits his assessment of his side's performance in the first quarter has been mostly positive.
"If we can jump a few places it will be great but it would take three or four other results to go our way," he said.
"The first quarter can give you an indication of how you are doing but I think it will be the turn of the year before we get a fairer reflection of how things are going.
"However, in terms of performances this season I've been pleased.
"If we can take something from the Aberdeen game then it will be a good solid start to the campaign.
"I had every confidence that my players would perform in this league when we came up and we have acquitted ourselves well, although like every manager I am always looking for more points.
"Aberdeen are a big club and have a good side but it is games like this that we have worked hard to earn the right to play.
"We have got to be positive and hopefully we will get a result." McInnes will not allow thoughts to stray to Monday, when his side go into the hat along with St Mirren, Hearts and Rangers for the Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final draw, although the matches are not scheduled to take place until the new year.
The former Rangers and West Brom midfielder said: "It's something to look forward to but it's a bit bizarre that the semi-final games are so far away.
"It's important that we go into this game against Aberdeen focused, looking for a positive performance and trying to get the points." St Johnstone have doubts over Steven Anderson and Collin Samuel.
Defender Anderson has a toe injury, while striker Samuel is struggling with a knock to the knee.
Aberdeen vs St Johnstone
Last modified 17:42 07/11/09
Dons sneak tight encounter Aberdeen recorded a welcome 2-1 win over an unlucky St Johnstone in an entertaining tussle at Pittodrie.
Sone Aluko gave Aberdeen the lead with a superb solo effort in the first half before Liam Craig equalised with 14 minutes to go after Jamie Langfield had spilled a Dave Mackay cross.
However an 83rd minute penalty from Lee Miller gave the Dons their first win since the middle of September.
Aluko and Michael Paton started for the Dons in place of suspended duo Maurice Ross and Chris Maguire, while Peter Pawlett replaced the injured Fraser Fyvie.
St Johnstone, looking for their third win on the trot, also shuffled their pack with Jonatan Johansson and Chris Millar preferred to strikers Kenny Deuchar and Filipe Morais who both dropped to the bench.
The home side started brightly and could have opened the scoring within two minutes when Aluko pounced on a searching pass from Charlie Mulgrew but the Nigerian international shot into the side-netting from an acute angle.
However the visitors created an opening of their own three minutes later with a fine passing move that ended with Finnish striker Johansson firing a left-footed shot inches wide.
The Saints were forced to make an early change after nine minutes with Steven Anderson coming on for Irish central defender Graham Gartland who appeared to injure his shoulder after landing awkwardly.
Aberdeen took the lead after 15 minutes with a fine counter-attacking move expertly finished by Aluko. Pawlett showed excellent pace and strength to shrug off Danny Grainger before finding Aluko who dribbled past two defenders before slotting the ball past Graeme Smith.
Pawlett was thriving on his return to the starting Aberdeen XI and he showed an abundance of speed once again to out-sprint the visiting defence before unleashing a left-foot shot that was clawed away by Smith.
Andrew Considine was shown the first yellow card of the day when he cynically chopped down Samuel after 31 minutes.
Smith was called into action soon after to thwart Pawlett with the St Johnstone goalkeeper keeping his composure to hold a powerful effort.
Langfield pulled off a superb near-post save to deny Samuel after 42 minutes to ensure the Dons went into half-time a goal in front.
Goalscorer Aluko, who took a knock in the first half, was replaced at half-time by Darren Mackie with the Saints also making a change with Deuchar being introduced at the expense of the ineffective Johansson.
The Aberdeen substitute almost made an immediate impact when he earned a yard of space in the box with a terrific piece of skill before smashing a shot from a tight angle off the post.
Jerel Ifil almost doubled Aberdeen's side lead with a neat shot on the turn that was excellently tipped over the bar by Smith after 54 minutes.
The former Swindon defender was then the hero at the other end just before the hour mark when he cleared a Deuchar header that had beaten Langfield off the line.
Ifil came to the rescue for Aberdeen again after 73 minutes when a Langfield punch fell kindly into the path of former Don Kevin Rutkiewicz who lobbed the ball over the stranded keeper but the Aberdeen defender again headed the ball clear.
However St Johnstone's mounting pressure paid off when they got back on level terms with only 14 minutes to go. Jamie Langfield dropped a hanging cross from David Mackay under pressure from Deuchar and Liam Craig pounced on the loose ball to roll the ball into the unguarded net. The Aberdeen goalkeeper was convinced he had been fouled in the lead up to the goal and was booked for his protestations.
However the Dons had an opportunity to regain the lead when Miller was bundled over in the box by Grainger after 83 minutes and the Dons striker kept his composure to drill the spot-kick home himself.
| Player rating out of ten | Player name | Substitution | Did they score? | Player's disciplinary record | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamie Langfield | ||||
| 2 | Charlie Mulgrew |
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| 3 | Richard Foster | ||||
| 4 | Gary McDonald | ||||
| 6 | Andrew Considine |
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| 8 | Mark Kerr | ||||
| 22 | Jerel Ifil | ||||
| 19 | Peter Pawlett(sub 70) |
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| 9 | Lee Miller |
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| 24 | Michael Paton | ||||
| 11 | Sone Aluko(sub 45) |
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| Substitutes | |||||
| 40 | Scott Bain | ||||
| 10 | Darren Mackie(sub 45) |
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| 14 | Derek Young | ||||
| 15 | Tommy Wright(sub 70) |
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| 16 | Stuart Duff | ||||
| 18 | Davide Grassi | ||||
| 25 | Jonathan Crawford | ||||
| Player rating out of ten | Player name | Did they score? | Player's disciplinary record | Substitution | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Graeme Smith | ||||
| 12 | David MacKay | ||||
| 3 | Daniel Grainger | ||||
| 4 | Jody Morris | ||||
| 5 | Kevin Rutkiewicz | ||||
| 18 | Graham Gartland(sub 7) |
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| 7 | Chris Millar | ||||
| 20 | Murray Davidson | ||||
| 10 | Liam Craig |
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| 21 | Collin Samuel(sub 83) |
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| 30 | Jonatan Johansson(sub 45) |
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| Substitutes | |||||
| 1 | Alan Main | ||||
| 24 | Steven Anderson(sub 7) |
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| 8 | Martin Hardie | ||||
| 22 | Filipe Morais(sub 83) |
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| 17 | Kenny Deuchar(sub 45) |
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| 37 | Mark Durnan | ||||
| 32 | Stephen Reynolds | ||||
| Team | Aberdeen | St Johnstone |
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