This was far from a classic. It was end of season stuff from us and I'd imagine Aberdeen, although I haven't seen the Dons for nearly two years due to midweek games so it could be their normal level of performance. The excitement came at the end when the players were clapped off, some clapped back in a way that suggests they'll leave and the fans stayed behind to see the players receive some prizes.
Those expecting youngsters to get a run out in a meaningless game were to be left sadly disappointed, with Graham Carey, Rory Loy and David Barron the only members of the Saints' 18 that could be classed as kids. The good news was Andy Dorman and Steven Thomson both returned from injury and took over from Michael Higdon and Hugh Murray as we went back to 4-5-1. We also avoided the embarrassment of a short bench by managing to rustle up seven subs from somewhere. The game was almost certainly the last appearance for Dorman and could well be Mehmet's swansong as well, so it was good to see both start. Aberdeen started with Steven MacLean and Darren Mackie up front and, like ourselves, could rely on a left footed player with Celtic connections for some decent set piece delivery in the shape of Charlie Mulgrew.
He proved it after just five minutes with a decent corner that Dominic Gibson, one of the youngsters Mark McGhee had decided to give a chance, headed towards goal but Mark Howard was able to take it without any trouble. The next 20 minutes turned out to be the ideal chance for those of us who were up all of Thursday night watching the election to catch up on some sleep. Saints did produce some nice passes, but often things got too tight and there was no final ball. When Carey and Robb did provide a decent delivery, Mehmet and David Barron (Christ knows what he was doing in the box) just couldn't connect.
The only entertainment of the first half of the first half was the Aberdeen fans giving Mulgrew plenty of abuse about his effort. However, his dead ball delivery is amongst the best in the league and he almost scored with a decent free-kick, but Howard turned it behind. That seemed to wake Aberdeen up a bit and soon after Robertson's cross was met by Mackie who looked to have missed the target with his shot, but a huge deflection off of Lee Mair took it past Howard and into the net. Considering we've one just one home game in the past four years after conceding the first goal, Mackie's strike pretty much finished off our hopes of getting three points.
Barron and Dorman fashioned a chance for Mehmet to equalise a few minutes later when the midfielder crossed for Mehmet and while he got a good connection, his header was just off target. However, there seemed no real urgency in our play as we returned to the stale, one paced stuff that has we have seen so often in the past few seasons. This was best summed up when a fine Carey step-over won a free-kick that was cleared as far as Barron near the half-way line - who promptly played it back to Howard! The fullback, who has been excellent this season, looked good at times but was all too willing to play the ball back when there was no real need to.
Carey and O'Donnell swapped sides and it almost paid off five minutes before the break when O'Donnell found himself charging into the box, only to realise he was going to have to shoot on his wrong fit. He tried to switch, lost control but Mehmet pounced to fire in a shot that Jamie Langfield tipped away. The rebound should have fallen kindly for Dorman, but he was far too slow to react - despite the ball only being a few yards away - and allowed Richard Foster to clear when he would have had a tap in.
There were indications at the start of the second half that things might improve when Dorman almost pounced on a defensive mistake before Mark Kerr's bouncing effort was saved by Howard. Dorman was proving a little too slow to react to things, always seeming to want an extra touch, but after some good work by Carey he was allowed to send in another good cross for Mehmet. This time, the big striker got nowhere near enough on it and it's possible his touch actually took it away from O'Donnell, who was in a great position behind him. Carey then tried a rather ambitious shot that swerved on its way towards goal, but wasn't anywhere near hard enough to worry Langfield.
With it being a meaningless, boring game Saints boss Gus MacPherson decided to go for it in the last half hour by throwing strikers at the problem. Craig Dargo, Michael Higdon and Rory Loy all came on - the latter probably for his longest appearance of the season - and Robb, O'Donnell and Brady trotted off. It's a fair bet at least one of them won't be at the club next season.
Loy almost scored immediately from a Barron cross, but he failed to direct his header away from Langfield. At the other end, Fyvie shot wide from a decent position. The changes did at least see us more willing to get the ball forward - possibly because we had no midfielders - but it didn't change the fact no one seemed willing to shoot and preferred to pass or cross to a team mate. It's about time some of our players start taking a bit more responsibility and just have a go - even if it doesn't go in, it could rebound or earn a corner or something else useful. Even Higdon seemed unwilling to have a go with his headers, preferring knock-downs or flick-ons despite being quite close in.
A foul by Carey on Fyvie gave Mulgrew another chance to test his deadball ability and Howard had to be at full stretch to turn his free-kick over the bar. Carey is quite handy with a set-piece himself although it was a quick Barron corner that gave him a chance, but he shot over. Dargo had a chance in the final minute, but was always struggling to keep his volley down and it sailed over the bar.
Afterwards there were cheers - and some Elvis - when news of Falkirk's relegation filtered through. The players were clapped from the pitch and the reactions of Mehmet and Dorman seems to suggest they'll almost certainly be off in the summer, althoug it's anyone's guess where they'll be. There was also the presentation of the player of the season awards by the various travel clubs and plenty of fans stayed behind, which created a nice atmosphere.
And so the season came to an end with no goals in the last two games, just two wins in the last 18 and a final day defeat for the fifth year in a row. Admittedly, those stats are slightly skewed by the last two games being meaningless, but it still doesn't disguise the fact it's not been a season to write home about.
Lots of work to be done in the summer to try to avoid another relegation battle - starting with filling the slots the imminent departures of Mehmet and Dorman will create.