SMASH AND GRAB
Now Dons look to raid Tynecastle and Ibrox
DESCRIBING his side’s victory as a ‘smash-and-grab’ raid, Andrew Considine knows this wasn’t a match that will live long in the memory.
But the Aberdeen defender, who scored the first goal against the run of play before Sam Cosgrove’s late penalty sealed victory, believes this gritty 2-0 triumph is the first in a three-part act that could define the club’s season.
Derek McInnes’ side are now unbeaten in five matches ahead of Wednesday night’s Betfred Cup quarter-final clash with Hearts at Tynecastle.
After that comes a Premiership trip to Ibrox next Saturday. At the end of that trilogy, Considine believes it will be clearer just how the Dons’ campaign is going to unfold.
‘We ground the win out here, it was almost smash-and-grab,’ said Considine.
‘But we’ll take it because it’s a results business and it puts us outright third in the league. It’s probably the only positive we can take from the game.
‘It’s a massive week coming up for us. You get weeks throughout the season that are almost season-definers.
‘We’ve been in semi-finals and finals and we want to do it again.
‘So it’s going to be a huge game on Wednesday and then Saturday will take care of itself.’
If Livingston had shown more composure in front of goal, they could easily have won.
The Lions had two one-on-ones with Aberdeen’s Joe Lewis in the first half. Scott Robinson fired the first straight at the keeper, albeit from an angle, before Chris Erskine lifted his shot over the bar.
Aberdeen made them pay as the home defence froze from Ryan Hedges’ corner and Considine stroked the ball into the corner of the net.
Gary Holt’s men should have levelled just before the break when Marvin Bartley seized on a poor back pass by Considine and slipped the ball into Erskine, but the striker fell to the ground as he went to make contact. He was duly replaced at the break by Jack Stobbs.
Aberdeen had the luckiest of escapes when Jon Guthrie’s shot hit the underside of the bar and then the inside of the post, the same player heading the rebound wide.
As Livingston pushed players forward, Niall McGinn sent substitute Cosgrove scampering clear in stoppage time.
Keaghan Jacobs took him down in the box and Cosgrove sent Ross Stewart the wrong way from the spot for his 11th goal of the season.
It silenced the growing disquiet in the away end with a poor performance from an injury-hit Aberdeen.
Considine said: ‘I’ve been in the game long enough. You grow a thick skin and you block it out and stick to your game plan.
‘It wasn’t pretty but we got the job done.
‘Our second goal came when Livingston gambled and Sam got in behind.
‘It was a breath of fresh air because we were peppered all game.
‘It would have been nice to play better and have more control but we managed to steal a result because Livingston had plenty of chances.
‘Rangers and Celtic try to play football here but that’s what Livingston want you to do. They’re great at turning the ball over and the manager didn’t want that.
‘He wanted us to play the ball in the area between their full-back and centre-half. That’s what we were aiming to do but we struggled.
‘I expect the same kind of game against Hearts. That’s their style of play as well and we need to stand up to it. But we’ll hopefully be able to play a bit more football on grass.
‘We’re struggling a little bit for numbers and experience right now and we’re going to have to be on our toes.
‘But big Sam helped us when he came on by holding the ball up and running in behind. If he can play from the start on Wednesday, he will be massive.’
Livingston defender Guthrie hopes his team make their chances count when they host Rangers in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
‘You know it’s one of those days when you hit the bar and post with one shot,’ he said of his missed opportunity against the Dons.
‘But we hope we’ve used up our share of bad luck against Rangers. If we play like we did against Aberdeen we’re going to cause them problems.’