St Mirren were edged out by Aberdeen at the Simple Digital Arena this afternoon as the visitors picked up all three points in a narrow 2-1 win. 

The Dons took a first half lead from the penalty spot through Stevie May, but Cammy MacPherson scored his first St Mirren goal five minutes later to draw Saints level. Despite the Buddies' endeavour, Sam Cosgrove's 61st minute header sealed all the points for Derek McInnes' Aberdeen side.

It was an even opening with neither side creating anything clear cut in the first 25 minutes. Stephen McGinn twice almost sent Simeon Jackson one-on-one with Joe Lewis but the offside flag thwarted the Canadian striker, while Sam Cosgrove shot harmlessly wide for Aberdeen. 

The first real opportunity came just before the half-hour mark when Aberdeen were awarded a free kick right on the edge of the St Mirren box. Niall McGinn curled towards the top corner only for Saints debutant goalkeeper Dean Lyness to wonderfully tip over to deny the Northern Irishman. 

But Saints were undone from the resultant corner. Alfie Jones was penalised for on Andrew Considine and Aberdeen were awarded a penalty. Stevie May stepped up and sent Lyness the wrong way.

However, St Mirren were level just five minutes later as Cammy MacPherson scored his first ever St Mirren goal. A foul on Simeon Jackson by Scott McKenna drew a free kick around 30 yards from goal. Adam Hammill sent the ball into a dangerous area in the box where MacPherson took a touch before rolling past Joe Lewis to equalise. 

Saints seemed keen after the break with Jackson finding Ryan Edwards in space inside the box soon into the second half but the Australian's shot from a tight angle was straight at Lewis.

Aberdeen proved they were still a major threat with Lyness making another superb save to deny May a second after the striker was slipped in by Cosgrove.

The Dons did get a second on 61 minutes as Cosgrove grabbed what would prove to be the winner. Lyness made another excellent stop to push Considine's header from a McGinn free kick on to the bar. English striker Cosgrove reacted quickest to nod home from close range. 

Saints huffed and puffed in an attempt to find a second equaliser but were unable to with Dons returning to the North East with the points.

Full Time: St Mirren 1-2 Aberdeen 

St Mirren: Lyness, Hodson, Jones (Smith 76), Baird, Ferdinand, Erhahon, S. McGinn, MacPherson, Edwards, Hammill (Breadner 81), Jackson
Subs Not Used: Wilson, Eckersley, McShane, Willock, Kirkpatrick

Aberdeen: Lewis, Logan, Considine, McKenna, Lowe, Shinnie, Ferguson, N. McGinn, May (Ball 76), Cosgrove, McLennan (Wright 86)
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Gleeson, Forrester, Wilson, Anderson

Referee: Greg Aitken
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Stuart Stevenson
Fourth Official: Lloyd Wilson

Attendance: 4,699

Oran Kearney gives his reaction to St Mirren's narrow loss at home to Aberdeen this afternoon.

St Mirren are back in action at the Simple Digital Arena tomorrow as we host Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership in the last home game before Christmas.

FORM

The Buddies were left disappointed last weekend following a 3-1 defeat away to Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Alfie Jones' first goal in black and white gave Saints a first half lead. But the Lions scored three second half goals to take all three points.

Saints' form has improved in recent weeks taking five points from the last five league matches compared to just four from the previous 12. 

Aberdeen's form has been up and down over the past few weeks with three wins and three losses in their previous six matches. 

Derek McInnes' side come into tomorrow's match on the back of a last-gasp win over Livingston at Pittodrie on Tuesday night. The Dons had taken the lead through Niall McGinn, but fell behind thanks to goals from Scott Pittman and Jack McMillan. Sam Cosgrove grabbed an equaliser, before youngster Lewis Ferguson secured a 3-2 win in stoppage time. 

There was a 2-0 loss for Aberdeen at home to St Johnstone last weekend which came off the back of a 1-0 win at Ibrox against Rangers.

PREVIOUS

Saints have already faced Aberdeen twice this season - both at Pittodrie. Indeed, Saints' three meetings against the Dons in 2018 have all been in the North East.

Only one of those matches has been in the league though - our most recent back in October. Aberdeen ran out comfortable 4-1 winners - scoring three goals in a 15 minute period in the first half 

St Mirren last welcomed Aberdeen to Paisley was back in 2015 in the Ladbrokes Premiership. The Dons were 2-0 winners that afternoon thanks to two goals in three minutes from Niall McGinn and Shay Logan. 

Saints' last league win over Aberdeen was in July 2011 when Nigel Hasselbaink's second half goal gave St Mirren a 1-0 win.

WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN

St Mirren are looking to bounce back from the disappointment of a loss to Livingston - coupled with Dundee's point against Rangers that saw Saints go bottom for the first time this season.

A win could see Aberdeen move into fourth place in the Ladbrokes Premiership - depending on Hearts and St Johnstone's results.

TEAM NEWS

Danny Mullen and Kyle Magennis after both out with Oran Kearney confirming the pair are likely to be sidelined for a significant period. 

The manager also told press that Paul McGinn and Ryan Flynn returned to training yesterday so the pair could come into contention. 

Long-term absentee Gary MacKenzie remains out.

Gary Mackay-Steven is still out for the visitors following his injury against Celtic in the Betfred Cup final. Mikey Devlin is also sidelined. 

Our match day programme, published in partnership with Curtis Sport, will be available from the Club Shop ahead of Saturday’s game.

This issue, for the Ladbrokes Premiership fixture against Aberdeen, is a 52 pager with a £3 cover price.

This latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Jack Baird.
The Gaffer - Oran Kearney looks back on recent matches and looks ahead to the match against the Dons.
Last Time Out – A look back at the recent Premiership match away to Hibernian.
The Opposition – Brian Corry gives the lowdown on Derek McInnes' Aberdeen side.
Matchday Announcements - Bulletin Board of info, dates and events in the world of St Mirren.
St Mirren Greats – David Cochran looks back on the St Mirren career of Willie Reid as both player and manager.
Matchday Gallery - Pictures from the post match presentations in the corporate suite after the recent home match against Hamilton.
Action Shot & Q&A (Centre Pages) – Midfielder Matty Willock. Matty also takes part in our quick-fire questionnaire.
Player Kit Sponsors 2018/19 – Check in to see who is sponsoring your favourite player's shirt for the season.
Fans Corner - Ticket prices, travel clubs update, match info and dates for fans to keep in their diary - and Fan's Music Pick!
Premiership Round-Up - A rundown on weeks 15 and 16 of the Ladbrokes Premiership season.
Street Stuff - News on Street Stuff's events over the upcoming Festive Season.
Paisley Panda's Fun Corner – Some puzzles to keep the youngsters entertained during the half-time break.
Football Bloody Hell – Alan Gallacher sets a quiz that looks back on 2018.
SMiSA - The latest news from the St Mirren Supporters' Trust.
Marketing Matters – Campbell Kennedy updates on the latest events and happenings at the club's Commercial Department.
FlashBack - A pictorial look back at the match between Saints and Aberdeen on 30th July 2011.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2018/19 – A handy reference page of all the fixtures and results for this season.
Team Lines – The two squads and match officials for Saturday’s match.

To buy this issue or to place your programme subscription for the 2018/19 season click HERE.

If you live outside the UK & Ireland, St Mirren TV is your way to watch Paisley’s Premiership club live in action each and every home match day.

This service, which is delivered by media students from the University of the West of Scotland, will cover all of St Mirren’s home games.

As usual the St Mirren TV team will be presenting all the action from the Simple Digital Arena when Aberdeen are the visitors for Saturday afternoon's Ladbrokes Premiership fixture.

If you want to tune in here is the info you will need:

St Mirren vs Aberdeen
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: The Simple Digital Arena, Paisley
Date: Saturday 15th December 2018
Kick-off: 3:00pm GMT

To access this match day service:

1 Day Pass – €6.99 EUR
Season Pass – €69.99 EUR

To view Terms & Conditions and get started with St Mirren TV please click HERE.

For technical support with St Mirren TV please e-mail tvsupport@stmirren.com

Come along to the Simple Digital Arena tomorrow afternoon and join in with the Matchday Experience which kicks-off at 1:45pm in and around the Family Stand.

Building on the successful initiatives that have seen St Mirren win the accolade of Most Family Friendly Ground in the Scottish Supporters Association Fan Awards, the Club's SLO and Paisley Panda with support from SMiSA and the SMFC Fans' Council present a range of activities to improve the matchday experience for families and all younger Buddies.

Although all the activities will be taking place behind the Family Stand they are available to all fans regardless of what stand you are sitting in for the match. The Aberdeen fans are also more than welcome to join in the fun behind the family stand.

To celebrate the Festive Season our events will be Christmas themed and they are as follows:

* A visit from Olaf from 'Frozen'.

* Look out for our mischievous Elf on a Shelf.

* Music from the very talented Megan Hart.

* Christmas face painting.

* Giant Santa/Panda balloon model.

* Free sweets courtesy of Black and White Army.

* Meet Paisley Panda!

So come along early and get involved in the fun activities before getting ready to back the Buddies in the Ladbrokes Premiership match against Aberdeen. #BackTheBuds

We are giving fans the opportunity to vote for the man of the match and also put two lucky fans in with the chance of winning a £10 voucher for the Club Shop.

Every home game we’ll throw open the voting on the 60 minute mark for 20 minutes where votes can be cast on Facebook and Twitter. All you have to do is use the hashtag #SMFCMOM followed by the name of the player you are voting for, eg ‘#SMFCMOM SMITH’.

With 10 minutes of the game remaining all the votes will be counted then the Stadium Announcer will confirm the winning player over the tannoy system.

From all the fans who nominate the winning player one will be picked at random from the Facebook account and another from the Twitter account and they will each be awarded a £10 voucher for the Club Shop. The winners will be notified through the account they posted from.

So get yourself ready on the hour mark of Saturday’s game against Aberdeen and get voting with #SMFCMOM.

Paisley Panda will host the ever-popular match day competition ‘Bung a Baw’ during the half-time break of Saturday’s match against Aberdeen.

To take part in ‘Bung a Baw’ fans need to purchase a small foam ball which is numbered and they will then have a chance to throw their ball towards our club mascot Paisley Panda in front of the Family Stand. Each person will have 60 seconds to do this and the winner will be the person who has thrown the ball closest to the feet of the Panda. The winner will be confirmed over the PA system.

The competition is sponsored by Glen-Bun Bakery who are supplying a full tray of yummy cakes as the prize for the contest winner.

Each ball will cost £1 to buy. The balls will be available from sellers inside the Family Stand in the 30 minutes leading up to kick-off and then again in the first 5 minutes of half-time before the competition starts (subject to availability). Each ball is numbered and participants will also get a ticket with the corresponding number which they will use to claim the prize if they win.

‘Bung a Baw’ continues to be very popular so Paisley Panda advises that you get in early tomorrow to purchase your ball to take part.

As well as taking care of ‘Bung a Baw’, Paisley Panda will be giving away sweets to the kids in and around the stadium courtesy of the Black and White Army website.

Paisley Panda has also teamed up with the St Mirren Club Shop so you will be able to buy hats and scarves for the game from the 'Bung a Baw' stands.

Paisley Panda is pleased to confirm that ‘First Scorer’ will be back for the game on Saturday against Aberdeen.

‘First Scorer’ lets fans predict in advance of the game who they think will score St Mirren's first goal in Saturday’s match against the Dons.

From all of those who guessed correctly, a winner will be picked at random and they will win a box of a dozen doughnuts which will be delivered to their seat right after the goal is scored!

To enter all you have to do ahead of the game is post your prediction of the first St Mirren scorer on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #Saints1stgoal. The lucky winner will then be contacted to confirm which stand they will be in with the row and seat number so that the prize can be delivered to them.

St Mirren in the Community are delighted to confirm that the SMFC Fans Council Panda Club will be open to young Buddies on Saturday afternoon for the Ladbrokes Premiership fixture against Aberdeen at the Simple Digital Arena.

The Panda Club will open at 1:00pm on Saturday. Parents please note that you should pick up your kids after the final whistle from the community office at 5:00pm.

Participants can look forward to pre-match football activities delivered by qualified St Mirren FC coaches inside the Airdome.

The Panda Club is open to boys and girls aged 5 to 12 years olds and costs £3 per child for the coaching session, the match ticket is provided FREE OF CHARGE.

For further information about the SMFC Fans Council Panda Club or to book your place at the next Panda Club match day please contact Ross Paterson by email at ross.paterson@stmirren.com. 

SMFC Fans Council Panda Club details for Saturday’s game are as follows:

St Mirren vs Aberdeen
Saturday 15th December 2018
1:00pm – 5:00pm

To find out more about the Panda Club click here