Aberdeen strengthen grip at top

Aberdeen increased their lead over Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership to four points with a 2-0 win over St Mirren in blustery Paisley.Dons forward Niall McGinn, the former Hoops player who caused a stir with the photograph of him sitting among Celtic fans during Monday night's 2-0 win at Kilmarnock which was posted on social media, opened the scoring in the 31st minute - although it looked like it was an intended cross which landed up behind Buddies keeper Mark Ridgers.Defender Shay Logan doubled the visitors' lead two minutes later and the Pittodrie men went on to win with relative ease.Aberdeen's victory - with their eighth successive league shut-out - puts pressure back on to champions Celtic, who are on a winter break in Grana Canaria, although they will return with two games in hand.St Mirren started the day without a home league win and above bottom side Ross County only on goal difference, and with the Staggies' game against Partick Thistle postponed due to a power shortage in Dingwall giving them the chance to open up a gap.However, although they showed glimpses against the Dons, the Buddies clearly have a battle on their hands to stay in the league.With Marc McAusland suspended, Steven Thompson out for up to four weeks following hernia surgery and Adam Drury returned to parent club Manchester City after a loan spell, St Mirren interim player/manager Gary Teale drafted in Lewis McLear, Gregg Wylde and Isaac Osbourne.Kenny McLean was available for the home side after successfully appealing the red card he received against Kilmarnock on New Year's Day and he was captain against an unchanged Dons side.It was McLean, moved from midfield to striker again, who came close to opening the scoring in the fourth minute with a powerful left-footed drive from 20 yards which Dons keeper Scott Brown tipped over the bar for a corner which came to nothing.Sloppy play by the Saints defence moments later allowed Pittodrie midfielder Ryan Jack to set up striker Adam Rooney, whose low drive was parried by Ridgers, the Paisley keeper then having to make another save, this time from McGinn, when St Mirren failed to clear their lines.Gradually, the home side, and their fans, sensed there was something in the game for them and in the 24th minute a 25-yard snap-shot from midfielder John McGinn drew a good save from Brown, before McLean's less accurate volley from 10 yards flew over the bar.McGinn's goal owed much to the weather.The Northern Irishman's high cross from the left appeared to get caught up in the wind and when the Saints defence and keeper Ridgers failed to deal with the flight of the ball, it bounced straight into the net at the far post.With the home side still wondering how they had conceded the goal, they soon lost a second when Jonny Hayes' driven cross was poked in at the far post by Logan, who celebrated in some style.There was a flurry of activity around the Aberdeen goal at the start of the second half, with McLean volleying over a Stephen Mallan corner, but when that subsided the Granite City side reasserted themselves.However, in the 66th minute Andrew Considine's header following a Hayes corner, which was saved by Ridgers, represented their first real effort on goal of the second period.To their credit, St Mirren came back again and Brown was forced into another fine save in the 73rd from substitute Lewis Morgan, who had replaced McLear moments earlier, with Callum Ball on for Wylde.At the other end, Ridgers produced an equally good save from McGinn's volley, with Mallan clearing Considine's effort off the line from the resultant corner, the game eventually dwindling out to the Dons' satisfaction with substitute Lawrence Shankland, on for Rooney, hitting the bar in the final minute of normal time.