[sport] Aberdeen went a fifth game without a goal as they and St Mirren lost ground on the sides around them in the Scottish Premiership

[#Hassan.]

Ryan Flynn was denied by Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis early on.

Dons debutant Florian Kamberi saw his shot saved by Jak Alnwick and the home side missed the chance to move to within two points of third place.

Jon Obika volleyed wide for the Buddies in the second period as they slipped into the league's bottom six.

St Mirren are a point below Dundee United, who have played two games more. Aberdeen are now four points behind Hibernian with both having played 28 games.

Reaction & as it happened
With the wind playing its part, St Mirren looked to use the left foot of Ilkay Durmus to unlock the Aberdeen defence. His volleyed cross was stabbed towards goal by Flynn but Lewis stood tall to make the block.

Later, Durmus' deep free-kick was touched over by the keeper but was probably heading out anyway.

Aberdeen, who publicly backed under pressure manager Derek McInnes this week, struggled to eke out an opportunity and Kamberi's low drive was collected by Alnwick.

The influence of the wind was laid bare when Lewis attempted to take a free-kick just outside of his box early in the second half but the ball kept blowing away from him.

The conditions did not help Fraser Hornby at the other end when his free-kick sailed wide of the St Mirren goal and an effort by Matty Kennedy was an easy save for Alnwick.

Obika came on for Lee Erwin and fired off target from the edge of the box and Kyle McAllister's free-kick posed no real problem for Lewis as the match petered out.

There was a late scramble in the St Mirren box after Joe Shaughnessy missed a cross but neither Lewis Ferguson nor Hornby's replacement Callum Hendry could get the better of Alnwick.

Jake Doyle-Hayes did not reappear for the second half and St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin revealed post-match the midfielder would leave the ground on crutches and have an x-ray later.

Man of the match - Conor McCarthy

 

What did we learn?
St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin had told BBC Scotland pre-match he was concerned the game might not go ahead after snow on Friday and the wind clearly affected the quality of the game. Nonetheless, the Buddies adjusted to the conditions better than their hosts.

Kamberi and fellow deadline day signing Hornby were lively for the hosts without being overly influential.

Ryan Hedges' absence is clearly being felt by the Dons, with the winger out for the rest of the season and depriving the side of the drive and creativity they need right now.

What did they say?
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "We go with a positive line-up. The intent was trying to get playing in their half of the pitch. The conditions made it difficult for both sets of players.

"It's not a proper day to be judging people and performances. There's no criticism of my players, their effort was outstanding."

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "We knew it wasn't going to be pretty with the way the wind was blowing. Defensively I thought we were excellent.

"It was a brilliant chance [for Ryan Flynn in the first half]. It was very good save. That probably was the best opportunity of the game. All in all, I think a draw is probably a fair result. I still believe we're in the driving seat [for the top six]."

What's next?
Both sides are back in league action again on Wednesday at 18:00 GMT with Aberdeen away to Celtic and St Mirren at home to Hamilton Academical.