Lewis throws down gauntlet for Aberdeen after County collapse
JOE LEWIS insists it is up to the Aberdeen players to prove Saturday’s disastrous Dingwall performance was a one-off.
With dissatisfaction growing among Dons’ fans, Derek McInnes’ side blew the chance to crank up the pressure on struggling Celtic and mount a genuine tilt for second place in the league.
Had County’s north stand been packed out in red as it usually is on these occasions, McInnes and his players would have certainly faced a deafening cacophony of dissent at the final whistle after the 4-1 defeat.
Oli Shaw struck the home opener after 36 seconds, with Charlie Lakin slamming in a second on 20 minutes. A deflected finish, credited as an Alex Iacovitti own goal, mustered hope on half time, but the second half proved lame in an attacking sense, with increasing desperation late on creating gaping holes in the Dons’ defence for Shaw and Jermaine Hylton to pick off.
The fact this crushing setback came just two days after Jonny Hayes trumpeted his hopes of Aberdeen splitting the Old Firm made it all the more galling for fans watching at home.
Attacking failings – with decent chances missed and striker Sam Cosgrove looking a shadow of his former self – were at the heart of one of the worst results of the McInnes era.
A “McInnes Out” banner, unfurled at Pittodrie on Saturday evening, did the social media rounds although it was an isolated visual protest.
There is certainly growing dissent, though, fuelled by frustration at failing to take advantage of the open goal that is Celtic’s troubles.
There also seems to be boredom among fans over the team’s predictable style of play, with McInnes now eight years in the job, as well as fatigue and frustration at the alltoo-familiar sense of missed opportunity for Scotland’s perennial third force.
The Dons are clearly missing
the spark and creativity of injured Marley Watkins, now unlikely to return from Bristol City after his serious hamstring problem.
McInnes could move to replenish his creative options in this transfer window, but it is thought he has already been informed resources are thin to non-existent.
More probably, the Dons face being weakened by Scott Wright’s departure to Rangers, with the identity of any makeweight player swap now crucial to appeasing supporters.
Lewis, the Dons goalkeeper and captain, sidestepped talk of crisis, but summed up the depth of dismay in the away camp.
“We’re very disappointed,” he said. “You have to assess the game and sometimes when emotions are high it’s best to reflect maybe on Monday morning. We have to make sure we’re nothing like that going forward.
“We were slow to react to things in either box. We were flat-footed and didn’t make the most of any opportunities we had – and obviously Ross County did.
“We ball-watched a little too much when it came into our box. We didn’t anticipate, at either end, where the balls were going to land.
“We were waiting for things to happen rather than being proactive and taking it by the scruff of the neck. We need to make sure we lift ourselves.”