St Mirren played host to in-form Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership this evening looking for their first league win of the season.

Both sides struggled to create chances in the first period, but it was a more open contest after the interval.

The Buddies started the second half brightly, taking the lead shortly after the restart through Steven Thompson, only to be denied three points by a late volley from Peter Pawlett.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the action to establish whether a draw was a fair outcome.

Match statistics:

St Mirren:
Shots 5
On target 2
Possession 52%
Corners 1
Fouls 14

Aberdeen:
Shots 10
On target 3
Possession 48%
Corners 5
Fouls 14

Was the result fair?

It's hard to say as St Mirren were marginally better overall, but Aberdeen created more chances and should have put at least a couple of them away. The two teams were evenly matched in the first period, the hosts were superior for much of the second half, and it was the Dons who were asking all of the questions before the final whistle.

St Mirren's performance

The Buddies defended well in the first half and played with plenty of passion, yet lacked teeth in the final third. Their attacking play improved after the interval and they produced some of their best football of the season, only to run out of steam towards the end. They will look at this as two points dropped.

Aberdeen's performance

Derek McGinnis's side were nothing to write home about in the first half and only really came to life after going 1-0 down. However, they did show some determination in the latter stages of the game, particularly after Niall McGinn was introduced. They could have snatched it, but McGinnis will no doubt be grateful of a point after trailing for much of the second half.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Steven Thompson: The veteran striker played with the energy of somebody half his age this evening, chasing lost causes and showing the kind of spirit that the Buddies will need to show if they want to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle. He was involved in all of their best moves and might have won them the match had luck been on their side.

Biggest gaffe

Calvin Zola's hot-headed first-half performance wins this award. The Aberdeen striker committed a foul virtually every time he went for the ball and looked on a mission to get himself sent off. McGinnis dragged him off just after the hour mark with a booking to his name.

Referee performance

Calum Murray had a good game all round. Zola proved a handful for him for much of the first half, but otherwise both sides were clean with their tackling and the official made correct calls all evening.

What next?

St Mirren: The Buddies face a crunch visit to Hearts in their next fixture, with the Jambos being the only side below them in the league due to them being docked points as a result of their pre-season financial woes.

Aberdeen: Aberdeen will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to seven games when they visit ninth-placed Ross County.