Match Recap: Aberdeen 0 - 0 St Johnstone

Much has been made of the early date that the SPL season got underway, and perhaps both sides were still trying to shake off a little rust from the summer. Overall the Dons were the stronger side even playing a man down for the final twenty-five minutes, and can hope to build on the effort going forward.

That said, the visitors from Perth could have completely changed the match in the early going when new signing Youl Mawene bungled Cillian Sheridan's cross before Gonzalez denied David Robertson's follow up attempt.

From that point on, however, the Dons shifted into gear, first with new captain Foster saw his curling free kick go just wide, and then just a few minutes later when Enckelman had to work to punch aside Foster's blast from the top of the box. The rest of the half so the Dons continue to push forward, and Aberdeen carried at least some of that momentum through the break as Fyvie first hit the post (on a cross the Finnish admittedly misjudged) and then send Mackie in on goal, but the chance was wasted as the strike drove the ball straight to Enckelman.

Aberdeen's push forward was slowed when Ryan Jack decided to make an early exit, drawing straight red for a foolish, two-legged challenge on Murray Davidson. Perhaps the red was harsh but I have no problem with the decision, a reckless challenge that COULD have caused serious injury has no place in the game.

We were introduced to Icelandic international Kari Arnason, taking over for Pawlett, just a few minutes later, and combined with the addition of Josh Magennis (for the quiet Vernon), the substitutes help the home side regain the forward direction. Magennis in particular had a couple strong runs into the danger area only to be let down by poor finishing. I thought Stevie Cowan had the right of it, saying "[when] Aberdeen get to the final third, they just don't seem to have the guile to work an opening", which we knew going in could be a challenge.

That said it was a solid showing for several question marks going in. Foster endured a fair amount of off-season criticism so a solid debut in the captaincy was huge for him. We have to hope that last year's leading scorer Vernon will move past whatever was plaguing him this afternoon, though Mackie's effort suggested his "100 goal" pledge may not be complete folly. If the Dons can bring this week's effort to St Mirren next Saturday they should collect the three points for a nice (early) start to the season.