VYNER REVEALS HOW ABERDEEN DID THEIR HOMEWORK TO SEAL WIN AT MOTHERWELL
Defenders Vyner and Leigh do their homework as switch pays dividends
RESTING up in a hotel room on Friday evening, Zak Vyner and Greg Leigh opted for a spot of late revision ahead of being tested as Aberdeen midfielders for the very first time.
Out came the laptop. And on went highlight clips of the finest playmakers in the English Premier League beating goalkeepers from every conceivable angle.
For two players who had forged their careers as defenders, this was an exhibition of slightly alien skills. Stopping goals had been their forte. Not creating or scoring them.
A pair of outstanding performances at the heart of Aberdeen’s best display of the Premiership season utterly transformed perceptions of what these loanees can offer.
Both were shifted forward by Derek McInnes due to injuries and suspensions. The result, however, was far from a patch-up measure.
While McInnes had worked all week in training to educate them in their new roles, the Pittodrie boss may still have been surprised at just how well his plan worked.
Leigh had already set up Sam Cosgrove’s exquisitely-taken opener by the time Vyner decided to replicate the kind of finish pored over the previous night.
Taking the ball with his back to goal, the 22-yearold spun to instantly unleash an unstoppable, swerving 25-yarder. It cracked off the inside of Mark Gillespie’s right-hand post and put Aberdeen 3-0 up with half-an-hour still to play.
‘I played in the academy and reserves in midfield but not in any senior games,’ grinned Vyner, who came through Bristol City’s youth programme.
‘It was new for Greg in there, too, but we spurred each other on.
‘He is my room-mate so we spent the night before the game watching highlights of midfielders and Jon Gallagher helped us, too. We watched midfielders’ goals in the Premier League. I’ll be watching it all week now!
‘My only other goal was a tap-in from two yards when I was on loan at Plymouth so this is easily the best goal of my career.’
McInnes believes midfield could be where Vyner’s future career lies. That looks a shrewd assessment on this showing.
‘The manager had said to me for a couple of weeks that he thinks I could do a job in there,’ continued Vyner. ‘I think I’m capable of doing it, so when he gave me the chance in training this week I jumped at it.
‘I enjoyed it. It’s different from right-back or centre-half, there are people chasing you from behind but I think I did well.
‘We’ve had a lot of injuries, good players who will come back in, but as long as I perform like that I’m happy and will keep going.’
McInnes’ men are now within a point of third-placed Motherwell, who had won five out of six beforehand.
This was a high-stakes assignment. Yet the confident way it was handled suggested a potential turning point in a campaign marked mainly by frustration.
Sunday’s visit of Celtic — in rampant form against Ross County — certainly carries the capacity to halt any momentum. Even so, the 1,058 Aberdeen fans at Fir Park would have departed nursing a new sense of optimism.
Spotting six defenders on the team sheet must have given them pre-match palpitations but what followed was a performance in stark contrast to the 5-0 battering endured when last on the road at Ibrox.
‘We had to show aggression and how clinical we can be when it mattered,’ insisted Vyner. ‘We’ve got a quality team even with the guys who are out.
‘We didn’t think Motherwell could go seven clear, we just did our research on them and took care of ourselves and it led to us getting the three points.
‘It’s a big game now on Sunday but we have to focus on ourselves. We’re at home, the crowd will be behind us and we have to show the aggression we showed today.’
Aberdeen’s task would have been far tougher had they fallen behind after just five minutes when the hosts were awarded a debatable penalty.
Joe Lewis was adamant he hadn’t touched Chris Long and the goalkeeper delivered his own retribution. A terrific save, shooting up his left hand as he dived to his right, sent James Scott’s decently-struck spot-kick speeding over the bar.
Ten minutes later, the Dons seized control. Leigh was instrumental in it, robbing Long inside his own half before striding forward to slide a pass into enemy territory.
Barry Maguire had dropped to centre-back for Motherwell while medics assessed Peter Hartley — who had been poleaxed by an earlier James Wilson drive — and the youngster completely lost track of Cosgrove’s clever run.
As Gillespie sought to advance, Cosgrove dinked the ball over the goalkeeper with a glorious, featherweight touch and Aberdeen had a lead they wouldn’t lose.
Now on 15 goals for the season, the £25,000 signing from Carlisle tormented his markers throughout to further underline his development as a striker. ‘Sam’s goal reeked of the confidence he has and he led the line so well,’ enthused Vyner. ‘He is class and he is doing really well for us. He is putting everything away that comes his way so we just have to wrap him in bubble wrap and keep him going.’
Niall McGinn made it 2-0 seven minutes before Vyner struck, nicking the ball off Allan Campbell and sending an angled finish beyond the helpless Gillespie.
That was the experienced winger’s first domestic goal of the campaign. Getting him firing again will be a massive help to Aberdeen’s cause.