Relegation-threatened Aberdeen’s alarming decline continued as they slumped to another abject Scottish Premiership defeat at rejuvenated St Mirren on Stephen Robinson’s return to Paisley.
Jonah Ayunga’s low driven effort, the striker’s first goal since his League Cup final double in December, opened the scoring on a sobering afternoon for the Dons, who are now level on points with St Mirren and remain just three above Kilmarnock in the dreaded 11th-placed play-off spot.
And the away side, who have now won just one of their past 16 league matches, were eventually punished for dismal set-play defending when Alex Gogic powered in a header from a Scott Tanser corner late on.
Robinson, who is now winless in three games in charge of Aberdeen after departing St Mirren last month, did not hold back after his team were thrashed at Rangers a fortnight ago but failed to get a reaction from his players.
The Dons have struggled to deal with cross balls all season and that could have been responsible for them being four down at the break, with Liam Donnelly seeing a header tipped over before nodding off the bar.
Miguel Freckleton could only plant a close-range header of his own wide from another Declan John corner, then Donnelly got caught in two minds between going for goal or teeing up a team-mate after a deep free-kick.
Aberdeen lifted their level after Ayunga’s first-half strike produced the goal Craig McLeish’s St Mirren merited, but Robinson’s men still finished the contest without a shot on target after having about 40% of the ball.