St Johnstone secured their first away win of the season with a disciplined 1-0 victory at Aberdeen on Sunday. Josh Fowler's 14th-minute penalty, awarded after a VAR check for handball, proved the decisive moment at Pittodrie. The team's defensive resolve was reflected in the stats, showing they blocked five shots and limited Aberdeen to just one clear big chance.
Simo Valakari's side had to show immense defensive steel to protect their lead, registering their first clean sheet of the campaign. They achieved it with a makeshift back three, where Dan Finlayson played as a centre-half alongside full-backs Liam Smith and Matty Foulds. Goalkeeper Toby Steward was vital, making key saves from Ayoub Mouloua and Kevin Nisbet before the break. The Perth side were content to concede territory, seeing only 34% of possession. The hosts, who had 66% possession, were jeered off by their own supporters at full-time.
St Johnstone's recent form, which reads WDLWD, shows they are a tough team to beat and this result lifts them to fifth in the standings with 11 points from eight games. The win was built on a foundation of hard work, with the team putting in a significant shift in goal minutes to protect their narrow lead from the early stages.
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari was delighted with his team's adaptability. "What a shift our players put in," he said, taking special pleasure in winning in a different way. Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson refused to blame the pitch. "The pitch can be better, but that's not the reason for today," he stated, urging his team to make better decisions in the final third.
The focus now turns to the next fixtures, with a home match against Dundee United scheduled for 17 October. Daniel Finlayson was substituted in injury time for Bozo Mikulic, and his condition will be assessed ahead of that key home clash as St Johnstone look to build on this momentum.
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Matty Foulds made his first appearance in two months in the win at Aberdeen, stepping into a makeshift back three. The defender said on the club's website, "You sometimes need to bide your time and, when you get your chance, take it." Manager Simo Valakari praised Foulds as a prime example of squad readiness. The clean sheet helped maintain St Johnstone's fifth-place standing, with 11 points from eight games.
Josh Fowler now leads the Scottish Premiership scoring charts with five goals, the league confirmed. The striker's penalty at Aberdeen was his latest contribution. St Johnstone's defensive effort in that 1-0 win was underlined by a colossal 77 clearances, according to the match statistics. The result lifted the side to fifth in the Premiership, with 11 points from eight games.
Defender Lewis Smith said the club's fifth-place standing is no shock internally. "In the building, we had all the confidence that we could come into this league and compete," Smith told the club's website. The 31-year-old, who played in a back three at Aberdeen, praised the team's collective defensive work. St Johnstone, who have 11 points from eight games, host Dundee United next.
