Fowler's penalty and a Pittodrie "masterclass" lift promoted Saints into the top five
Sunday 11 October 2026 · By Murray Shaw
Newly promoted sides aren't supposed to go to Pittodrie and come away with all three points. Nobody seems to have told St Johnstone.
Simo Valakari's side beat Aberdeen 1–0 on Sunday afternoon, thanks to a 14th-minute penalty from Josh Fowler. It moved Saints from seventh to fifth in the Premiership, level on 11 points with Dundee United and one behind Dundee in fourth.
It wasn't a game St Johnstone dominated. Aberdeen had most of the ball and spent long spells pushing for an equaliser. But after Fowler scored early, the visitors defended well, goalkeeper Toby Steward did everything asked of him, and Aberdeen never really found a way through. The Courier called it a "masterclass" from Valakari's team, and it's hard to argue.
Fowler deserves his own paragraph. He went into the weekend at the top of the Premiership scoring charts with four league goals, so Sunday's penalty should take him to five. We'll wait for the official stats to confirm that, but he's clearly become a key figure for this team.
There were 16,706 at Pittodrie, with a decent travelling support who'll have enjoyed the trip home.
The bigger picture is what really stands out. St Johnstone came up from the Championship, and plenty expected them to spend the season looking over their shoulders. Instead, after eight games, they have three wins, two draws, three defeats, a goal difference of zero, and a place in the top six. They're also unbeaten in their last two after the 1–1 draw with Falkirk before the break.
That isn't luck. Valakari's side are organised, they defend with discipline, and they have a striker in form. That's a pretty reliable formula in this league.
What's next is probably the most interesting fixture of the weekend for anyone in Tayside. Dundee United visit McDiarmid Park on Saturday 17 October at 15:00. It's fifth against sixth, both teams on 11 points, and both coming off wins. Jim Goodwin's side beat Hibs 1–0 on Saturday, and the winner in Perth will have a good claim to being the top six's newest regulars.
After that, the schedule gets harder. Saints travel to Ibrox to face Rangers on 24 October, then host Motherwell on Wednesday 28 October. The Rangers trip will be a big test of just how far this side has come, while the Motherwell game is the sort of home fixture that teams chasing the top six need to win.
For now, though, Saints fans can enjoy this one. Winning at Pittodrie is never easy, and doing it with a performance this composed suggests St Johnstone are more than just a promoted side enjoying a good run.
The challenge now is to keep it going. Next Saturday against United is the perfect chance to show this isn't a flash in the pan.
North is at the top. The goals face the North Stand and the Ormond Stand. The Main Stand, on the west side, is drawn a little deeper because it is the taller stand. Pitch proportions follow the 105 by 68.5 metre playing surface.
McDiarmid Park is a tidy, purpose-built ground on the north-western edge of Perth, and it is a straightforward away day if you plan the last couple of miles. St Johnstone have played here since August 1989, when the club left Muirton Park for land given by farmer Bruce McDiarmid. It was the first all-seater stadium built in the United Kingdom, and the covered bowl still feels compact rather than cavernous. Capacity is 10,696. Most Saturdays the place is well short of that, so what noise there is comes from the ends.
Visiting supporters are usually put in the North Stand, directly behind the goal at the northern end of the pitch. It holds around 2,000, and the view is clean, with no pillars to duck. Smaller followings are sometimes kept in a segregated block at the north end of the Main Stand instead, with both end stands closed. If your club is bringing a large travelling support, St Johnstone can also open the Ormond Stand at the opposite end and a slice of the Main Stand running towards the North Stand. Check the ticket before you travel: the end you have been given is the end you will be singing from.
The pitch runs north to south, so the goals sit in front of the North Stand and the Ormond Stand, not in front of the side stands. The Main Stand, on the west side, is slightly taller than the other three. It has the dugouts, the tunnel and the better legroom. Opposite it is the East Stand, a single tier of home seats. The south end is the Ormond Stand, named after Willie Ormond, who left St Johnstone in 1973 to manage Scotland. A digital scoreboard sits in the north-east corner. Seats are blocked in blue, white and flashes of orange and red, and the grass pitch measures 105 by 68.5 metres.
Getting here is the part that catches people out. The address is Crieff Road, Perth, PH1 2SJ, a little over two miles from the city centre and nearly three from Perth station, which is too far to walk with a crowd. Stagecoach buses from Mill Street drop you by the ground; a taxi is simpler after an evening kick-off. By car, follow the A9 towards Inverness and watch for the signs onto the slip road. The car park is largely pass-led, with a few matchday spaces at a small charge, and police direct supporter coaches to their own bays. Arrive early. The roads around Tulloch tighten up close to kick-off.
There is no proper pub within an easy walk, so drink in Perth and travel out. The stadium bar takes both home and away supporters. Kiosks sell the usual pies and hot drinks, and take card as well as cash. The club shop, in the Ormond Stand, opens on matchdays only, before the game and briefly after the whistle. Tickets are best bought in advance through St Johnstone. Wheelchair spaces for visiting supporters are on a raised platform in the Main Stand, with an accessible toilet nearby, and need to be booked with the club.
It is not a hostile ground. Stewards are firm about persistent standing in the aisles and about anything coming onto the pitch, but the sightlines are clean and the legroom is better than at most Scottish grounds of this size. The floodlights are the pylons that once stood at Muirton. Wrap up in the north end: that stand takes the weather off the hills, and a Perth winter does not do mild.