Aberdeen 0 - 0 St Mirren: Darren Mackie a goal short of the perfect goodbye

Aberdeen boss Craig Brown admitted that his side’s 0-0 draw with St Mirren summed up the frustrating nature of their season – but paid tribute to striker Darren Mackie, who captained the side in his last Dons outing with a man-of-the-match display

Bookings: Aberdeen - Considine, Magennis; St Mirren - McAusland, Goodwin, Thompson

Attendance: 10,716

Mackie passed up what was perhaps the best chance of the game after just five minutes, although St Mirren goalkeeper Craig Samson deserves credit for the save he made to deny the striker.

Brown said: “That exemplifies our season. We could have been 3-0 up in the first ten minutes thanks to great chances, and we had a couple more later in the game. Credit to St Mirren, it looked as though they came for a point, and they got away with a point. Like last week against Kilmarnock, I thought we were the better team, but if you don’t score goals, you won’t win games. We know what we have to address over the summer.”

The former Scotland boss was frustrated to have finished ninth in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and added: “It’s very tight, and a couple of points can make a difference. When you think of the points we’ve allowed to slip away, we could have been at least seventh and maybe even top half.”

On the departing Mackie, pictured, Brown said: “He got a great reception, and deservedly so. The pity is that he didn’t get the two or three goals I think he deserved. Everyone here loves him, and he goes with the best wishes of everyone at Aberdeen Football Club.”

Meanwhile St Mirren manager Danny Lennon expressed his delight at the progress his side have shown over the last season. He said: “I’m thrilled and delighted to finish eighth. It’s been a fantastic season of progress in terms of the brand of football we’ve played throughout the season. I’ll be the first to admit it hasn’t always worked for us, but in terms of what we’re trying to do at this football club we’ve set the stall out and the players have bought into it. I’m delighted for the fans who have travelled up here to see their side finish eighth.”

On the game, he added: “The result at the end doesn’t always have a true reflection on how the game is. The first half today, Aberdeen got out of the traps very well, but we started to build up a good rhythm. The final ball let us down, and then Aberdeen came back at us, as we knew they would. That’s a side of the game that I like to see from us. We play for each other for the full 90 minutes, even when it’s not going our way.

“We have one or two things up our sleeve to continue that progress.”