Aberdeen 2-1 St Johnstone

Aberdeen waved goodbye to the foot of the Premier League for the first time this season with a 2-1 victory over St Johnstone.

The Dons went behind to a John O' Neill strike after just 14 minutes but Arild Stavrum levelled the scores from the spot six minutes later before Robbie Winters got the winner soon after the interval.

Aberdeen's new signing Hicham Zerouali did not score but was once again impressive and played a crucial part in the victory, only their fourth of the season.

The Moroccan, who had scored three goals in three starts, caused enough trouble in the box to force Danny Griffin to handle the ball after 20 minutes and earn the penalty which brought the Dons back into the game.

And it was his fine pass into the stride of Winters that created the second goal four minutes after the restart.

Zerouali combined well with Stavrum but the pair wasted several chances which made the final 40 minutes more nervous than they should have been.

The Dons had veteran keeper Jim Leighton to thank for a fantastic 78th minute save to deny substitute Nathan Lowndes.

Saints' John Paul McBride also saw his shot come back off the upright as Pittodrie let out a collective sigh of relief.

Teams:

Aberdeen: Leighton, Perry, Solberg, Anderson, McAllister, Dow, Bernard, Guntveit, Winters, Stavrum, Zerouali. Subs: Preece, Mayer, McGuire, Rutkiewicz, Belabed.

St Johnstone: Main, Frail, Weir, Griffin, Bollan, O'Neil, O'Halloran, Kane, McBride, Simao, Jones. Subs: Ferguson, Lowndes, Dods, McMahon, Lauchlan.

Referee: George Clyde (Scotland)