AN EIGHTSOME REEL IS DANDY FOR DONS

Aberdeen waltz past Saints and crank up pressure on Celtic

CELTIC had their winter break in the sun. Aberdeen got theirs from the wind.

A fortunate title twist in the Dons’ favour came via an assist from an extra icy blast that turned Niall McGinn’s delivery into a direct hit on goal after 31 minutes.

That was sufficient to startle St Mirren goalkeeper Mark Ridgers and set relentless Aberdeen on their way to another precious victory — their eighth in a row without conceding in the league.

Surely for McGinn, the best view of Celtic is peering down on them with a four-point gap from atop the Premiership, rather than a seat in the stand watching them play on his day off.

The misdemeanour of being photographed at Rugby Park last Monday earned him a rebuke from his manager for being ‘naive’.

His selection was never in doubt, though, and the visiting supporters chanted his name, so all was forgiven.

McGinn was excellent from start to finish, tormenting Saints fullback Jason Naismith, and he wasn’t alone in another assured Aberdeen team display that suggested no end in sight to the streak of wins which has triggered this unlikely top-flight title battle.

While Celtic chugged through a challenge match in Gran Canaria instead of continuing the fight against St Johnstone, Aberdeen kept on clicking to great effect and the outcome here was never in doubt from the moment Shay Logan netted two minutes after McGinn’s strike.

On a bitter Paisley afternoon, snow swirled in on the second-half action. Mercifully for Derek McInnes, his team had done their best work before conditions deteriorated and St Mirren didn’t do enough to face a slip-up in the sleet.

In fact, they slid further themselves because of Ross County’s inactive afternoon and are bottom of the table on goals scored.

The stingiest defence on planet football was unlikely to have trembled i n fear at facing a converted midfielder as the sole striker threat offered up by Saints, whose interim boss Gary Teale needs to make attacking additions to the squad urgently.

Kenny McLean assumed the berth up front and he tested Dons keeper Scott Brown within three minutes from 20 yards.

John McGinn was next to sting the palms of the on-form Brown as St Mirren initially raised their game.

Young legs did the grafting for McLean, with Lewis McLear and Stephen Mallan working in behind as Teale trusted fearless youth in the grip of their relegation battle.

But even when Saints have shown signs of encouragement this season, they have quickly been extinguished and Aberdeen did a devastating job of that with their rapid double.

Since Celtic weren’t in action in this county, McGinn took a break from seeing his former club in action and his total concentration on Aberdeen was never more welcome.

His inswinging cross from the left benefited from some wind aid on its wicked way towards dipping into the top corner, fooling a rooted Ridgers, who had expected one of his defenders to clear.

Aberdeen had a swagger to their every move and, buoyed by seizing the lead, that soaring confidence helped them mount another successful raid within two minutes.

Jonny Hayes zipped across a low delivery from the left and Logan arrived at the back post to bury the ball home on the slide.

In home ranks where a league win was last tasted in May, hope had been smothered and all McInnes needed to ask his men for at the break was no outbreak of stupidity. This impressive group carry out his demands to the letter.

There were a couple of scares, not least when Ryan Jack went down hurt after a foul by former team-mate Isaac Osbourne.

This Dons team require a bit of luck with injuries to stay i n contention for the second-half stretch and, fortunately for them, Jack’s discomfort was a false alarm. Another fright came from St Mirren’s bench. Substitute Callum Ball led the St Mirren line for the last 20 minutes in an attempt to breach the imposing red barrier.

The record keeps on rolling to next week, though, most spectacularly thanks to a brilliant fingertip reaction save from Brown to a Lewis Morgan shot that almost saw the substitute score with his first touch from fellow sub Brown’s assist.

McLean’s visible frustration at firing over direct from a Mallan corner hinted that was one that should not have got away. But Aberdeen kept on pressing and St Mirren had to be alert on account of an interchanging forward line and Peter Pawlett’s menace.

They fooled their hosts at a clever set-piece but David Goodwillie fluffed the last act as he failed to connect with what should have been a free header eight yards out.

Ridgers kept McGinn out with a save to challenge Brown’s best work, Mallan hoofed off the line from Andrew Considine and sub Lawrence Shankland hit the bar.

Celtic appear to be courting plenty of Dundee United players in the January transfer window.

If they really want to stave off their greatest title threat, they should start bidding for Aberdeen players.

On this form, with top performers all over the pitch from Pittodrie, Ronny Deila would face quite a dilemma over where to start the unsettling procedure.

ST MIRREN (4-1-4-1): Ridgers; Naismith, Goodwin, Tesselaar, Kelly; Osbourne (Reilly 85); McLear (Morgan 71), Mallan, McGinn, Wylde (Ball 71); McLean.

Subs (not used): Kello, Marwood, Williams, Baird. Booked: Osbourne. ABERDEEN (4-2-3-1): Brown; Logan, Taylor, Reynolds, Considine; Jack, Hayes; Pawlett (Robson 82), Goodwillie (Smith 82), McGinn; Rooney (Shankland 84).

Subs (not used): Langfield, Shaughnessy, Masson, Wright. Booked: None. Referee: Steven McLean. Attendance: 4,977.