St Johnstone 1 - 2 Aberdeen: 1,607 brave grim night in Perth as Dons record first away victory

RYAN Jack scored from near the halfway line as Aberdeen eased the pressure on their manager Craig Brown by moving three points off the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League in front of 1,607 - the lowest top-flight league attendance in McDiarmid Park’s history.

The sparse crowd braved strong winds, torrential rain and freezing temperatures and only the 355 Aberdeen supporters went home happy after their first away win of the season.

Jack’s 14th-minute effort led to Scott Vernon’s opportunist opener and the Scotland Under-21 international capitalised on a short clearance from Saints goalkeeper Peter Enckelman - who endured an evening as torrid as the elements - before Marcus Haber pulled one back in injury-time after Andrew Considine had been red-carded.

St Johnstone striker Sam Parkin made his first start since February as the teams took the pitch steeled for an evening where trying to play intricate football was going to prove difficult. Parkin, whose comeback from a broken ankle had previously been limited to substitute appearances, replaced Carl Finnigan with Francisco Sandaza still injured.

Alan Maybury replaced David Robertson in midfield while Chris Clark came in for the suspended Fraser Fyvie for the visitors.

The match had been postponed because of fog early last month and there was doubt about last night’s action amid poor conditions.

But the pitch looked decent despite a deluge of rain and the game - which at least gave both clubs a share of the live broadcasting fee - went ahead in front of Sky’s cameras amid concerns over the strong wind, following discussions between referee Steven McLean and both managers.

Two clearances swirled out of the park in the opening minutes but home midfielder Chris Millar quickly rose above the conditions with a powerful curling effort following a short corner, with Jason Brown punching clear.

Aberdeen initially looked as if they were kicking into the wind but they scored in the 14th minute as St Johnstone struggled to get the ball away following a spell of pressure.

A half-clearance fell for Jack 20 yards out and he kept his shot down well, with Enckelman only able to parry it into the path of the unmarked Vernon, who slotted home as the hosts looked for a flag which would not have been justified, as the Aberdeen striker had kept himself onside when the initial effort was fired in.

Enckelman almost lost a hopeful long ball in a sudden gust of wind, recovering to hold as Rory Fallon tried to pounce, and the Saints keeper then dealt with a low drive from Clark.

Aberdeen had an escape when Richard Foster barged over Haber as he ran into the box with McLean deciding the offence had taken place inches outside the area. Liam Craig’s driven free-kick was diverted wide and the midfielder wasted a decent chance in injury-time when Parkin’s ball set him free on the left, his final product being a low ball that did not trouble Brown or find a team-mate when the better option would have been to try and test the Aberdeen goalkeeper himself.

Brown parried Dave Mackay’s effort past his near post and St Johnstone midfielder had a great chance in the 54th minute.

Enckelman’s clearance held up in the wind and caught out the advancing Dons defence and Haber’s header sent Murray Davidson clear. But, on a night when hitting the ball low along the wet surface was the only option, Davidson inexplicably tried to chip Brown and the ball drifted over the bar in the wind.

Aberdeen soon made an enforced change with Rory McArdle replacing Youl Mawene. The new-look defence continued to be busy, with Parkin seeing a looping header saved before curling over from 20 yards. Kari Arnason almost lit the game up midway through the half when he let fly from 35 yards with the wind at his back, but the ball bounced off the outside of the post with Enckelman beaten.

The Finnish goalkeeper was beaten from much further out in the 79th minute. Enckelman came 30 yards out of his goal in a bid to return a clearance as Aberdeen sat in their own half.

But he could not get enough on his left-footed ball forward and it fell for Jack, who took a touch and placed the ball inside the post from the halfway line with Enckelman not quick enough to get back and cover his net. Considine was shown a red card for a foul on Parkin two minutes later but Aberdeen held on despite Haber heading home Millar’s injury-time cross.