Derek McInnes felt his Aberdeen team were denied a clear penalty during their goalless draw with Dundee United.

But the Dons boss admitted his players had to do better in the final third after losing their 100 per cent away record in the Scottish Premiership despite a dominant display at Tannadice.

The Dons made two first-half penalty appeals, with by far the strongest coming when former Pittodrie striker Lawrence Shankland appeared to handle as he stopped Ross McCrorie’s effort in the goalmouth.

Referee Alan Muir waved away vociferous appeals from the visitors.

McInnes said: “We asked the players to go out and start quick, own the pitch and grab the game by the scruff of the neck, and I thought we did that.

“We were guilty of just not taking care of that final pass, wasteful with chances, and we have got to look at ourselves for that.

“When we come as an away team, having 18 shots, 11 corners, umpteen free-kicks, we are looking for more from that.

“It wasn’t for the want of trying, the players put a lot into it, did a lot of things right, their keeper has made some good saves, and like every team we are looking for the right decisions at the right time.

“There were a couple of penalty claims, one in particular where wee Lawrence leans forward, his whole body shape changes and he leans down and handballs it.

“The reaction from my players was unanimous and, having seen it again, I can understand why, it’s a penalty kick every day of the week, and we should be getting that.

“But we still had the second half to do something about it and when they defend their box as deep as they were, we were looking for more of that penalty-box striker, maybe a (Sam) Cosgrove type would have been ideal for that, and I thought we were guilty of maybe overegging it instead of just getting it out of our feet and taking more shots, getting more crosses in the box.”

United had goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist to thank for earning them a point with a series of saves, notably from Scott Wright, although they had a late chance to snatch victory when Logan Chalmers was denied by Joe Lewis on the break, a prospect McInnes described as an “absolute travesty”.

United boss Micky Mellon agreed his keeper was among the best in the country.

“Without a doubt and that’s not me being biased, he has done it week in, week out,” Mellon said. “He is so comfortable, he just makes it look easy.

“He’s got everything and he has also got the temperament, He is very calm, it’s no problem to him, and do you know what else? He’s a really good guy and he wants to improve all the time.

“That’s right through the whole football club, he probably epitomises the way that these boys are. They attack training every day.”