Kev proved to Graham he’s not a has Veen
Dutch striker bounces back to dump Dons 0 2
Graham Alexander had a chat with Kevin van Veen about his then watched him turn it on to maximum
minimum expectations
effect to sink Aberdeen.
Motherwell’s Dutch striker was dropped for last week’s mauling by Rangers but came back in and netted a deadly double at Pittodrie.
It was Well’s first win in six and it prevented the Dons from jumping above them.
Fir Park boss Alexander said: “We know what Kev is capable of in front of goal and I had a good chat with him on Friday about what I expect from him as a minimum.
“He is a super talent but his minimum has to be that I’ll know what I’ll get from him.
“When he pressed the ball, competed… if we compete like that and be as disciplined as that, then we know we have players who can produce those sorts of finishes.
“Kev has done that many times and hopefully there are many more to come.”
The Steelmen showed their mettle to bounce back after being hit for six by Rangers and put the brakes on the Dons’ brief revival, which saw them pick up seven points from their last three games.
It was also a case of deja-vu as Well also beat the Dons 2- 0 at Fir Park, with Van Veen also scoring that day.
The stats yesterday were also similar as the Dons dominated possession but were f loored by Well’s only two efforts on target.
Alexander added: “It was the complete opposite of last week, the players were absolutely magnificent.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of players – more than any in my career.
“The performance is what we’ve trained for this week. The players deserve credit.”
Aberdeen were keen to test Well’s resolve and Sondre Johansen made a fine, early blocking challenge to deny Marley Watkins when Scott Brown’s free-kick fortuitously fell into his path.
A Ryan Hedges cross set up Christian Ramirez for an acrobatic volley but Juhani Ojala headed clear. Watkins then put in a cross that Lewis Ferguson headed towards goal, forcing Kelly into a flying stop to his right.
Well defender Bevis Mugabi, f illing in at right- back for suspended captain Stephen O’Donnell, put his team under pressure with a desperately short pass back.
Kelly raced out to boot clear but Hedges got a partial block but when the ball spun to Watkins he miscontrolled it with the goal at his mercy.
Ferguson cracked a shot just over, while Dean Campell saw another effort from distance saved by Kelly.
Well’s Barry Maguire was booked for stopping a quick free-kick and he was lucky not to walk for another foul.
It was one-way traffic and Campbell cracked in a volley that Kelly saved then Hedges’ shot hit team-mate Funso Ojo and flew just wide.
Motherwell would have been relieved to go in level while the Dons must have been looking for more of the same after the break with a goal or two thrown in. But the second period was a different affair altogether. Five minutes after the restart, Van Veen deftly f licked a Sean Goss cross past Joe Lewis.
It was Motherwell’s first effort on goal but they suffered a blow when Ojala was forced off and Ricki Lamie came on.
And they were on a high again when they doubled their lead in the 56th minute.
Goss’ cross was headed back across the goal by Lamie and Van Veen superbly fired it past Lewis.
Aberdeen’s response was to send on Niall McGinn for Dylan McGeouch and they thought they had got a goal back when Ferguson flicked Campbell’s free-kick towards the goal.
But Kelly somehow tipped it on to the post and then made another great save when the rebound fell to centre-back David Bates.
Alexander hailed Kelly, who was left out of the Scotland squad last week.
He said: “We can’t say that we’re surprised by it – we know what a fantastic goalkeeper he is.
“But every single player did exactly what was required. No one has let their teammates down.”