St Mirren Ends Aberdeen’s Unbeaten Run with 2-1 Victory

St Mirren secured a 2-1 victory over Aberdeen in Paisley, with Richard Taylor’s header concluding Aberdeen’s undefeated streak in the Scottish Premiership. This defeat marks the first league loss for Jimmy Thelin’s team in 12 matches. While Aberdeen maintains its second-place position, it faces the possibility of falling further behind Celtic, who are scheduled to play Hearts later. Concurrently, Rangers narrowed the gap by one point, now sitting eight points behind in third place. St Mirren, having also been on a three-game unbeaten streak prior to the international break, commenced the match with considerable intensity against their formidable opponents. Toyosi Olusanya opened the scoring by penetrating the Aberdeen defense following a long punt from goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe, calmly slotting the ball low past Dimitar Mitov. St Mirren was temporarily reduced to ten players when referee John Beaton issued a red card to Alex Gogic for a forceful sliding tackle on Shayden Morris. However, following a VAR review recommendation, Beaton subsequently changed the decision to a yellow card. Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin expressed his discontent by making a double substitution at half-time, introducing Duk and Kevin Nisbet, a move that revitalized his team’s performance. Duk created difficulties on the left flank, and his subsequent cross ultimately reached Jamie McGrath, who converted it to equalize the score. Nevertheless, St Mirren maintained their composure, withstood the pressure, and progressively regained control of the match. Conor McMenamin’s shot was effectively saved by Mitov, and Olusanya’s attempt went narrowly wide. However, in the 83rd minute, Taylor scored from Mark O’Hara’s corner kick. Shortly thereafter, Duk struck the post with an inventive backheel effort, but Aberdeen was unable to secure a second equalizer.