Richard King's towering 99th-minute header earned St Mirren an unlikely Scottish Premiership point in a frantic six-goal thriller against Aberdeen.

After a drab goalless first half, the game sprang to life when Marcus Fraser put the visitors in front from the penalty spot after 55 minutes.

Aberdeen hit back with two goals in three minutes from Dante Polvara and Marko Lazetic, before Jonah Ayunga made it 2-2 following an error from Jack Milne.

Lazetic then poked home Stuart Armstrong's cross to restore Jimmy Thelin's side's advantage and apparently earn the Pittodrie side victory.

But there was one final twist as King got on the end of a cross from fellow substitute Conor McMenamin deep in stoppage time.

Aberdeen are now unbeaten in five league matches and stay seventh in the top flight, three points off Falkirk in sixth, while St Mirren - who have dropped 14 points from winning positions this season - remain without a league win since September and stay 11th.

It was a second half littered with not only goals and drama, but also mistakes.

Aberdeen centre-back Mats Knoester handled a looping cross into the box that was picked up by VAR for Fraser's penalty. The visitors' captain coolly dispatched the spot-kick and that sparked the chaos that followed.

St Mirren failed to clear an in-swinging corner, allowing Polvara to lash home a left-footed shot amid the stramash, then goalkeeper Shamal George spilled the ball straight to the onrushing Lazetic, who had a straightforward tap-in.

At the other end, Milne - who has impressed this season - made a hash of his clearance, allowing Ayunga to race in and fire through Dimitar Mitov's legs.

With time running out, and Aberdeen on course for a fourth win in five league games, substitute Gavin Molloy was forced off injured.

Having used all three available substitute breaks, the hosts were forced to play the final stages with 10 men and their depleted number were unable to stop King nodding home a dramatic last-gasp goal.

Some analysis surrounding Aberdeen's recent upturn was whether it is sustainable to grind out results by relying on their defence and hope to pinch a goal.

That was turned on its head, though, as they found a cutting edge while shipping goals at the other end.

Fans must have feared the worst when Topi Keskinen struck a post and Adil Aouchiche and Kevin Nisbet both missed gilt-edged chances in the first half.

However, Aberdeen found their shooting boots after the break, finding the target with eight of their 18 shots as they dominated and pushed St Mirren back.

That came at a cost though, as Stephen Robinson's team were able to create multiple chances of their own, scoring their three goals from an expected goals value of 1.86.

Thelin must find a balance if Aberdeen are going to force their way into the top six.

St Mirren's struggles have become far more than a blip and their League Cup semi-final triumph against Motherwell appears something of an anomaly.

They were perhaps unfortunate to have a first-half Scott Tanser goal disallowed for a perceived foul on Mitov.

But they desperately need some momentum and confidence before they return to Hampden to face Celtic in the final on 14 December.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin: "You get a lot of emotions when you come back in the game so many times and do a really good performance overall.

"It was disappointing to score three goals and come away with one point.

"We created more chances, looked quite balanced, but sometimes moments happen in the game and St Mirren were really effective.

"I'm really focused on being good again on Saturday. A lot of things were good today, but that's football sometimes."

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "I'm so proud of the players. It's so easy to give up in life when things are going against you.

"They showed great character and overall, a point's probably a fair result. A big turning point for us.

"I've already said too much on decisions. That's six goals disallowed in five games I believe. Referees do the best they possibly can and we have to go with that.

"I'd rather talk about the character and desire shown. Our results in the league haven't been good enough and it's easy to feel sorry for yourself - we didn't, we kept battling.

"To see that attitude and desire from the players, that's the big thing from me. We have to try to get three points and go into the cup final with a positive mindset."

Aberdeen are away to Dundee on Saturday (15:00 GMT), while St Mirren host Dundee United at the same time.