Saints pay penalty after disputed spot kick spurs on Dons
ABERDEEN 2 Cosgrove (45+2, pen), Taylor (54) ST JOHNSTONE 1 Gordon (38)
A c‑ontroversial Sam Cosgrove penalty and Ash Taylor’s first goal of the season blew Aberdeen back into third place above Hibernian in the table.
It was a hard-fought win in tricky conditions with a gale force wind making it tough to play attractive football.
Not that Dons manager Derek Mcinnes was too worried about that after watching his side stretch their unbeaten league run to six games.
He was just delighted to see them show the character needed to keep the pressure on Celtic for a top-two finish.
Mcinnes said:“We are halfway through the league and with that total of 38 points we are well on track to securing another European spot.
“We still have it all to do and everybody has told us this is the best squad we have but they are still being tested.
“We are stretched just now with injuries and suspensions but we are still digging out results like today.”
By contrast it’s just two points from the last seven matches for struggling St Johnstone who are too near the relegation places for comfort.
An early injury knee injury that saw Scott Tanser replaced by Callum Booth was the first setback on a day that ended badly with substitute Callum Hendry’s red card.
The other bit of bad luck came at he end of the first half with a controversial penalty to bring Aberdeen back into the game after Liam Gordon’s opener.
David Wotherspoon was only inches away from netting the opening goal in 14 minutes.
The midfielder found space 20 yards out to zip in shot while Ali Mccann did likewise shortly afterwards with a similarly disappointing end result.
Saints’ fortunes seemed to change when Gordon scored his first ever senior goal with what seemed a bit of a fluke.
The central defender got his head to Liam Craig’s free kick from deep but steered it down into the ground from where it looped up and over Joe Lewis into the net.
It was no more than they deserved at that stage but their collective luck ran out decisively in first-half stoppage time.
Referee Alan Muir denied the Dons a penalty when Booth seemed to block an Andy Considine shot at point-blank range with a raised arm.
Aberdeen were furious but within seconds Muir incensed the Perth club’s players when Cosgrove crashed to the deck after minimal contact with Sean Rooney.
Of course Cosgrove added insult to injury by burying the resultant penalty and that goal was transformative in terms of the flow of the game.
Aberdeen were much more positive after the break, while St Johnstone seemed to let a sense of injustice get the better of them.
Jonny Hayes swapping wings with former Saints midfielder Matty Kennedy certainly helped in that respect but the visitors contributed to their own downfall by failing to deal with a set piece in 54 minutes.
Poor defending from Lewis Ferguson’s corner kick saw the ball land at Taylor’s feet and the central defender was able to drill the loose ball home for the winner.
St Johnstone’s day didn’t get any better as substitute Callum Hendry was sent off for two late bookings just days after Michael O’halloran had done likewise against Rangers.
His manager’s frustration at that and some of Muir’s other decisions during the game probably contributed in him earning a yellow card at the same time.