From boos to relief: Aberdeen come back to beat St Mirren, but Lyons' knee is a worry
Sunday 18 October 2026 · By Isla MacLeod
Aberdeen were booed off at half-time at Pittodrie on Saturday. By the final whistle, the noise was very different. Stephen Robinson's side turned a 1–1 score at the break into a 3–1 win over St Mirren, and few results this season have been needed more.
The win ended a frustrating run of three home league games in a row without a goal. Before the weekend, the BBC pointed out that Aberdeen had the lowest expected goals total in the Premiership (8.3) and the fewest shots on target. This time, the chances went in.
It started brilliantly. Brad Lyons hit a stunning 25-yard shot inside two minutes to put the Dons ahead. But the old nerves crept back in, and Eseosa Sule equalised for St Mirren three minutes before half-time. That was when the boos came.
Robinson didn't argue with them. "At half time, it was justified," he told the Press and Journal. "We played with fear." What changed after the break was the attitude, and the impact of the players who came on.
The second goal followed a VAR check, which moved a foul by Nsio on Yogane inside the box. St Mirren goalkeeper Chapman saved Kevin Nisbet's penalty, but the striker followed up to score the rebound on 58 minutes. That was a big moment for Nisbet, who hadn't trained all week because of a hamstring problem and was a late fitness test.
Ayoub Mouloua then made it 3–1 on 72 minutes, finishing after Aremu took a quick free-kick. Mouloua had also missed training during the week while he went through concussion protocols, so it was a good afternoon for two players who had been doubts.
There was more good news too. Emmanuel Gyamfi made his first appearance since May, and most of the 17,020 crowd went home happy. It was also Robinson's first win over his old club since he took charge at Pittodrie.
The one worry is Lyons. The midfielder only returned from knee surgery last week, and he went off with a knee problem on Saturday. "It's the same knee. I don't know if it's the same injury," Robinson said. No timescale has been given yet, so it's a case of waiting for the club's next update.
That matters, because the next three games are big ones. Aberdeen go to Tannadice to face Dundee United on Saturday 24 October, host Falkirk on Wednesday 28 October, and then meet Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden on Saturday 31 October (17:30).
The win lifts Aberdeen to seventh on 11 points, ahead of St Mirren and one point behind both St Johnstone and Dundee United. That's how the table stood before Sunday's game between Celtic and Hearts. Robinson also pointed out that "I think we've lost one in six now", which suggests the overall picture isn't as bleak as the half-time boos made it sound.
There's still plenty of work to do. Aberdeen played with fear for 45 minutes, and they can't afford to do that at Tannadice or at Hampden. But the second half showed what this group can do when it plays with freedom, and that's something real to build on.
Pittodrie sits on the edge of Aberdeen, a short walk from the beach and the North Sea, and it has been Aberdeen’s home since 1899. For a visiting supporter it feels compact rather than cavernous. Capacity is 20,866, all seated, and the pitch is about 109 by 72 yards, so you are never far from the play. The ground runs east to west. One goal stands in front of the Merkland Stand at the west, King Street end. The other stands in front of the Richard Donald Stand at the east, the old Beach End. The side stands are the Main Stand on the north and the South Stand on the south.
Away supporters are housed in the eastern part of the South Stand, usually sections P, Q and R, beside the Richard Donald Stand. A normal allocation is around 2,500, and the club can stretch that towards 4,500. You are on the side of the pitch, not behind a goal, looking along the length of the field, with the Richard Donald goal to your right if you face the pitch. Turnstiles are reached from the South Stand walkway. Expect a ticket check before the turnstiles and a search on the way in. Segregation is in place, and stewards cover the divide with the home sections of the same stand.
Coach parties are sent to the west side of the Golf Road car park, next to the Richard Donald Stand, and should not drop passengers on the surrounding streets. There is no general away parking on the stadium footprint, and match-day restrictions apply on nearby streets. Park-and-ride buses run from sites such as Kingswells and Bridge of Don, dropping passengers near the ground and returning after the final whistle. Buses on King Street also stop a short walk away. From Aberdeen station, a bus or taxi covers the last stretch into town.
The Richard Donald Stand, opened in 1993 and named after former chairman Dick Donald, is the newest part of the ground: two tiers, with executive boxes between them. Opposite it, the Merkland Stand is older and lower, with a granite street front and a family area. The Main Stand, across the pitch from you, dates from the 1920s, still has roof pillars, and holds the dressing rooms and the players’ tunnel. Pittodrie is credited as the first British ground to install dugouts. The South Stand was once an open embankment and is now a single-tier cantilever. A corner between it and the Merkland end remains uncovered, so a jacket is worth packing. The television gantry sits in the South Stand.
Kiosks take cash and card. Scottish grounds do not serve alcohol in view of the pitch, and anyone who has had too much to drink can be refused entry. Flags and banners are checked, face coverings are not allowed, and pyrotechnics are prohibited. The Merkland end and the Red Shed supply most of the home noise. The ground is tight enough that even a modest crowd carries. The record attendance, 45,061 against Hearts in the Scottish Cup in 1954, belongs to the terracing era.
Allow time to get in. Queues build on the South Stand walkway, and late arrivals miss the kick-off. After the match, King Street is the simple route back towards town, the beach esplanade is the scenic one, and the park-and-ride pick-up is the sensible one if you used it on the way in. Pittodrie is old, a little weathered, and close to the sea: side-stand seats for visitors, a goal at each end of the plan, and a ground you can read from the concourse.