St Mirren's hopes of a Scottish Cup run came to an end after a 4-1 loss to Aberdeen at Pittodrie in the fourth round.
Adam Rooney opened the scoring from the penalty spot on eight minutes before Ryan Christie scored twice either side of Gavin Reilly's goal for Saints. The Dons wrapped up the victory thanks to a stunning strike from Gary Mackay-Steven just a minute into second half.
Saints had started brightly with Cammy Smith stabbing the ball through to Lewis Morgan inside the first minute. The winger burst forward having his shot blocked by the Aberdeen defence.
But it was Aberdeen who took an early lead when Adam Rooney netted from the penalty spot. Ryan Christie played the ball wide to Greg Stewart who cut into the box before being tripped by Stelios. Rooney sent Craig Samson the wrong way as he slid the ball into the low left hand corner to put The Dons in front.
Buoyed by the goal, Aberdeen went on the hunt for a quick second and almost got it when Stewart forced a good stop from Samson with a powerful effort from the edge of the box.
Saints were still causing problems themselves though with Lewis Morgan and Cammy Smith combining well on the left with the latter back-heeling the ball down the channel for Morgan who broke into the box. The young winger cut the ball back to Kyle Magennis who opened up space for himself before having his drive blocked by Joe Lewis.
The Dons doubled their advantage a few minutes later when Gary Mackay-Steven reached a ball at the byline. He laid the ball back into the path of an unmarked Ryan Christie who made no mistake as he buried the ball into the net to make it 2-0.
It was a frustrating blow for Saints but the Buddies soon got themselves back into the match when Gavin Reilly showed good instincts to score his 21st goal of the season. Good work from Stelios saw the Cypriot find Morgan in space inside the box. Morgan lashed goalward with Joe Lewis only able to parry into the path of Gavin Reilly who reacted quickest to knock the ball home.
Saints couldn't build on it and lost a sloppy goal on 33 minutes. Stelios' weak header came off Ian McShane inside the box before finding its way to Shay Logan. The full back threw the ball into the back post to meet Ryan Christie who leaped above the Saints defence to grab his second of the afternoon.
Lewis Morgan nearly reduced the deficit back to one almost immediately after Aberdeen's third. Joe Lewis was found in no mans land with Morgan lifting the ball over the stranded goalkeeper. It took what felt like an eternity to come off the side net.
Saints' hopes of getting back into the game would be extinguished a little over a minute after the restart. Gary Mackay-Steven nicked in ahead of Liam Smith before unleashing an unstoppable effort into the top corner. It was frustrating for The Buddies to have lost a goal so soon after the break but there was no arguing with the quality of the strike.
That effectively ended the game as a contest. Both sides had half chances to score but Aberdeen were comfortable to see the game out at 4-1 as they progress to the fifth round at Saints' expense.
Full Time: Aberdeen 4-1 St Mirren
St Mirren: Samson, L.Smith, Baird, Davis, Stelios, S.McGinn, McShane (Flynn 56), Magennis, C.Smith (Hill 76), Morgan, Reilly (Mullen 65)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, MacKenzie, Eckersley, Sutton
Aberdeen: Lewis, Logan, Considine, Reynolds (Harvie 84), O'Connor, Shinnie, McLean, Christie, G.Stewart (May 79), Mackay-Steven (McGinn 66), Rooney
Subs Not Used: Rogers, Harvie, Ball, Wright, Maynard
Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Assistant Referee: Willie Conquer
Fourth Official: David Lowe
Attendance: 9,848 (595 Saints fans)
Gallery pictures by John Millar © - Millar Pictures
