PAISLEY, Scotland (Interstat) — Saint Mirren opened its Scottish Premiership campaign with a commanding 2-0 victory over Aberdeen on Saturday at The SMISA Stadium, defying a pre-match projection of a draw to secure a clean-sheet win.

The home side, fueled by a decisive performance from forward Jonah Ayunga, controlled large stretches of the match and capitalized on key moments to hand Aberdeen a defeat to start the season. The result immediately separated the two sides in the early table, with Saint Mirren beginning with a win and Aberdeen with a loss.

After a physical opening half-hour that saw Aberdeen substitute Kenan Bilalovic booked in the 27th minute, Saint Mirren found its breakthrough just before halftime. Ayunga was the catalyst, finishing a move in the 40th minute to give the Buddies a lead they would not relinquish. The goal came just a minute after Saint Mirren substitute Liam Morrison also received a yellow card.

The match grew increasingly tense in the opening moments of the second half, with two more yellow cards issued in quick succession. Saint Mirren substitute Marko Lazetić was booked in the 45th minute, followed immediately by goal-scorer Ayunga in first-half stoppage time.

Aberdeen struggled to mount a sustained response or break down a organized Saint Mirren defense. The home side put the result beyond doubt in the 83rd minute when midfielder Alexandros Gogić found the net to double the advantage. The assist on Gogić’s goal was credited to another Saint Mirren substitute, Bilalovic, who had earlier been cautioned. Ayunga was also involved in the second goal, contributing an assist to complete his influential statline of one goal and one helper.

The final scoreline stood in contrast to the pre-game simulation by Interstat, which had projected a 1-1 draw. The same analytics system had given Saint Mirren a 67.5 percent probability of winning outright, a forecast the home side efficiently fulfilled.

Tactical substitutions proved highly effective for Saint Mirren, with three substitutes — Morrison, Bilalovic and Lazetić — each recording an assist despite two of them also receiving yellow cards. This depth underscored a cohesive team performance that Aberdeen could not match.

With the victory, Saint Mirren begins its Premiership season with one win and no losses, while Aberdeen starts with no wins and one loss. The records are identical across all competitions for both clubs in the young campaign. Saint Mirren will look to build on the positive start, while Aberdeen seeks to rectify its form after a shutout loss on opening day.