Boss Jimmy Thelin vowed Aberdeen will regroup and recover after their unbeaten start to the Premiership campaign finally ended.
The Dons went down 2-1 to St Mirren in Paisley to end a sensational 11 game unbeaten Premiership run under the Swede, with 10 wins.
The reverse in Paisley is the Dons’ first league defeat since March, stopping an unbeaten run stretching back to last season and across 20 games and nine months.
It is also the first time Thelin has experienced defeat in the Premiership since taking on the Pittodrie managerial role in the summer.
And the Swede’s first league defeat came in a stadium that has been a nightmare venue for the Dons.
Aberdeen have failed to win a league match away to St Mirren since December 2018, stretching nine matches, losing six and drawing three.
Thelin said: “We have done really good things this season and the most important thing is what happens in the next game.
“Now we prepare ourselves for the game against Hibernian.
“That’s the focus we need to have.
“It is a long season and every opponent is good but we focus on ourselves on what we can improve from this day.
“Some parts of the game we have to do better for the future, that is important for us – that we show our identity on the pitch.
“It is football and sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose.
“St Mirren came out better in the first half than us and were better in the second ball situations and in 50-50 duels.
“There were moments when we were a little unbalanced but St Mirren were sharp in the transitions.
“In the second half we started really well and created good momentum and scored.
“After that the game got more open and St Mirren were a little more sharper in the critical moments.”
Thelin’s praise for travelling support
The Dons were backed by a 1,333 strong support who had travelled through the eye of Storm Bert to Paisley.
It was particularly treacherous between Dundee and Perth with heavy snow and traffic grinding to a standstill.
A Storm Bert amber warning for snow, wind and rain on Saturday was in place in the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Angus on the eve of the game.
Police Scotland had urged drivers not to take to the road on Saturday.
At 11.15am St Mirren posted on social media that the club were “currently dealing with some challenging conditions at The SMiSA Stadium.”
An army of volunteers worked to clear snow off the pitch.
Following discussions between the two clubs, the authorities and match referee, it was agreed a pitch inspection would take place at 2.55pm, working towards a provisional 4pm kick-off.
Referee John Beaton passed the pitch as playable.
Thelin said: “We can’t predict all the things that happen with the weather and we wanted to play the game.
“It is a long trip for many people through bad conditions on the roads.
“They supported us all through the game and after it.
“We wanted to make a good result for them.
“The fans gave us energy after the game to regroup.”
St Mirren punish slack defending
St Mirren started the brighter and Conor McMenamin and Scott Tanser both fired shots inches wide inside the first 10 minutes.
The Buddies went ahead in the 19th minute when Toyosi Olusanya raced onto a long ball upfield from keeper Ellery Balacombe.
Olusanya burst in between Slobodan Rubezic and Gavin Molloy, outmuscling the centre-backs before firing a low 15-yard shot beyond Dimitar Mitov.
St Mirren’s Alex Gogic was shown a red card by referee Beaton in the 25th minute for a clattering challenge on Shayden Morris.
Following a VAR review where Beaton went to the pitchside monitor the dismissal was downgraded to a yellow card.
In the 44th minute Aberdeen went close when Leighton Clarkson ran at goal and then fired a 20-yard drive just wide of the far post.
Dons’ league unbeaten streak ends
In a bid to turn the tide Thelin made two changes at half-time, with Kevin Nisbet and Duk replacing Leighton Clarkson and Ester Sokler
Aberdeen looked sharper and levelled in the 49th minute when Duk crossed into the box from the left.
Nisbet’s attempted volley fell to Jamie McGrath who clinically shot a low drive beyond keeper Balacombe from 15 yards.
The Buddies regained the lead when Richard Taylor rose high above the Dons defence to head home a Mark O’Hara corner in the 83rd minute.
Aberdeen almost levelled moments later when Duk pulled off an audacious back-heel in a congested box that cracked off the base of the post.
The Dons are in new territory with a league defeat under Thelin, now the question is how will they respond?
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson said: “I want to dedicate the win to all the people that helped clear the pitch.
“It shows what the club is all about.
“I didn’t think at any stage there would be a game of football today.”
ABERDEEN (4-2-3-1): Mitov 6; Devlin 6, Molloy 5, Rubezic 5, MacKenzie 6; Shinnie 7, Heltne Nilsen 6 (Palaversa 68); Morris 6 (Keskinen 68), Clarkson 4 (Nisbet 46), McGrath 7 (Besuijen 84); Sokler 4 (Duk 46).
Subs not used: Doohan, Polvara, McGarry, Milne
ST MIRREN (3-4-3): Balcombe 6; Fraser 6, Gogic 6, Taylor 6; Bwomono 6, Phillips 7, O’Hara 6, Tanser 6; McMenamin 6 (Mandron 73), Olusanya 7 (Ayunga 82), Kiltie 7 (Boyd-Munce 90)
Subs not used: Urminsky, Kenny, John, Penman, Smyth, Idowu
Referee: John Beaton
Man-of-the-Match: Toyosi Olusanya (St Mirren)
Attendance: 7,533 (1,333 Aberdeen fans)
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