Bojan Miovski levelled from the penalty spot before Main volleyed a second and Declan Gallagher nodded home a late third.

Had Aberdeen not capitulated to Hibernian on Saturday, Jim Goodwin, and not Robson, might still have been leading them against his former club.

However, since that 6-0 thrashing at Easter Road, the manager and captain Anthony Stewart have departed the club, the latter on loan to MK Dons.

New club captain Graeme Shinnie had to try to keep a lid on his team-mates' anger as midfielder McCrorie was sent off by referee Graham Grainger with the game in its infancy.

McCrorie had been rushing towards the St Mirren box and Dunne stood his ground, forcing the defender to veer to his left to get past him. His right arm flew up into Dunne's face.

It seemed relatively innocuous but, after a VAR check, Grainer trotted over to the screen and returned brandishing a red card.

That set the tone for the rest of the first half as Leighton Clarkson and new signing Angus MacDonald threw themselves into meaty challenges, the latter booked, as they betrayed their sense of injustice in their play.

St Mirren's play was orchestrated by their captain, Mark O'Hara, and he seemed to have created a certain tap-in for Main, only for the striker to seem to catch his studs in the turf before knocking wide.

That was Main's last mistake. After the break he created space away from Jonny Hayes and flashed a header in at the near post.

Miovski took advantage of a generous-looking - but VAR approved - penalty when Duk went down in the box, the hosts' top scorer slotting past Trevor Carson.

But the goal of the game came from Main who, with his back to goal 16 yards out, collected a Keanu Baccus cross, flicked it up and spun to smash a shot past Lewis.

As Aberdeen tired, Gallagher rose to head home a late corner kick to give St Mirren their first away league win at Pittodrie since May 2011.

Player of the match - Mark O'Hara

St Mirren captain Mark O'Hara (second from left) produced a fine all-round performance in the middle of the pitch, snapping into challenges, passing with accuracy and driving down the wings. His cross for Main in the first half ought to have created the opener.

Change at the back for Aberdeen but defeat once again - analysis

Robson put two of his new recruits, Mattie Pollock and MacDonald, straight in to his defence, replacing Stewart and the suspended Liam Scales.

It was not until the last 10 minutes of the game that Aberdeen caved in, and that can be put down to tiredness given McCrorie's early departure.

For much of the match, MacDonald and Pollock launched themselves at high balls and blocked speculative shots by Alex Greive and Strain.

They got lucky with Main's miss and Kiltie's header that struck the bar, but for all the disappointment at a ninth defeat in 11 games, there are grounds for some hope that Aberdeen can solve their defensive lapses.

What they said

Aberdeen interim manager Barry Robson: "I thought we were very good for being down to 10 men. It's never easy, after the hard week that we've had as a club.

"You saw the fight after going down to 10 men. It was pleasing to see how hard the team worked after how low they have been. I was pleased with the reaction we got. I said to them in there, 'that's what it is to be an Aberdeen player'.

"[On the red card] I thought it was a free-kick for us. I've not seen it back so I can't comment on it but that was my take on it at the time."

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "Charles [Dunne] has got a black eye but it would be wrong of me to say it was or wasn't [worthy of a red card] without seeing the footage.

"The character was there in abundance. I told them to keep moving the ball. Some of the performances were outstanding. Keanu Baccus was back to his best again, and I'm delighted for Curtis Main and they got their rewards tonight.

"We've got a good side. We're hard to break down but we've got a lot more technical ability than people give us credit for."

What next?

Aberdeen are at home to Motherwell on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in the Scottish Premiership, at the same time as St Mirren will be hosting Hibernian.