Dropped standards hard for Dons to take
THE unsparing tone of the inquest emphasised just how alien this has become for Aberdeen. Week after week, win after win, the Pittodrie players had basked i n nothing but warm praise. Records fell, the champions were defeated, a top-flight lead was established and their title odds were trimmed.
Such flawless form was never going to last indefinitely. But it was the manner in which this first Premiership defeat of the season was accrued that proved such a jolt.
The midweek League Cup reverse against Hibs was a warning about what can happen if standards slip. But it was not heeded in the Highland capital.
When manager Derek McInnes branded their first half against a Ryan Christie-inspired Inverness Caley Thistle ‘as poor a performance as I’ve been in charge of’, it laid bare the depth of his disappointment.
‘It’s not easy to criticise the team as they have been excellent for the last two-and-a-half years,’ said McInnes. ‘But for the first time, I felt we didn’t have the desire to stop the opposition playing.’
Powerful words. But not ones that generated any dispute from those on the receiving end.
Centre-half Ash Taylor admitted the Dons players had been left aghast at suffering back-to-back defeats. No excuses were sought nor mitigation offered.
‘It was a very disappointing first half and it wasn’t good enough all over the park,’ said the ex-Tranmere defender, whose header made it 2-1.
‘We managed to get ourselves back into it but the damage was done in the first half. I totally agree with the manager’s assessment.
‘We are all hurting because we know that wasn’t good enough.
‘I don’t know where these last two performances have come from. Maybe there was a lack of desire to win the first ball and the second ball. But it’s a shock to us because we are used to winning and putting in good performances.
‘We expect the best from every player and we demand the best from one another. It just goes to show what type of squad we are that after losing one game in the league we are so disappointed.’
When McInnes faced the media, around 20 minutes after the final whistle, he claimed to still be unaware of Celtic’s result. It seems no one at Aberdeen was taking much consolation from their lead only being trimmed to four points thanks to Hearts securing a stalemate at Parkhead. Re- establishing their own authority is where all energies will be trained before St Johnstone visit Pittodrie on Saturday.
‘Our lead has come down by one point but we’ve got to put things right ourselves starting on Monday,’ added Taylor. ‘It would have been nice to have extended our lead. But we have to put in the performances.
‘Now we’ve got to get back to hard work and get back together as a group. It’s maybe a case of demanding a bit more f rom ourselves. If we have something to say we’ll say it to each other.’
Evidence of why Celtic paid £500,000 for Christie, before loaning him back to Inverness, was in abundant supply here. Without yet playing for his parent club, he has already done them a turn.
Christie was i ntegral to the eighth-minute opener. A lovely drag-back and spin entranced former team-mate Graeme Shinnie before Miles Storey was teed up for his third goal in four appearances.
Christie was only warming up. Just before the half-hour mark, given space more than 30 yards f rom goal, he opted f or the spectacular, sending a swerving, dipping strike beyond Danny Ward to double the lead.
Aberdeen had been outplayed, with McInnes admitting the goal they reclaimed before the break masked the extent of their failings.
It was as simple as they come. Taylor was left unmarked to nod a Niall McGinn corner down and into the net. The league leaders emerged with a far more forceful approach in the second half but, shorn of McGinn, who went off injured, they lacked sufficient craft.
Credit must also be given to the resistance offered by their hosts, now unbeaten in five.
Peter Pawlett whacked a post with a free-kick before fellow sub David Goodwillie saw an attempt touched onto the crossbar.
The altered momentum meant Christie had been unable to exhibit much more in the way of flair, but he still made his presence felt. Already booked for a foul on Shinnie, a stretching challenge to block the same player earned him a second yellow late on.
Aberdeen would have one more chance, but Goodwillie stumbled just as he tried to execute the finish. Collectively, their challenge is to quickly regain sure-footedness.