Fortune favours Rooney as Dons drive on
ABERDEEN capitalised on a full weekend of woe for the pretenders to their second-place perch thanks to Adam Rooney’s 17th strike of the season.
In the wake of wobbles from Rangers on Friday night, then Hearts and St Johnstone yesterday, the dependable Dons deserved to rest up on a nine-point cushion last night.
Except they won’t. Slacking off is not the style here, typified by the determination to detect a chink in a stout County defence throughout a second half of increased pressure and a surging push for a score.
Rooney found it on 69 minutes with a flick of fortune to decide a day that will not be remembered as one of the most aesthetically pleasing at Pittodrie, but should remain one of pride.
As other rivals drop away, professionalism among this group in getting their job done when star men are not being special will ensure they go on to retain the runners-up berth for another year.
Scarcely has a single-goal margin of victory over Ross County been celebrated with such a roar, the crowd recognising the significance of their players’ dutiful effort.
Perhaps it was also acknowledged that this was hard earned against a well-organised outfit that surely cannot be sucked into the relegation mire on this form, though they are only three points off the bottom.
For the Dons, they will soon start thinking of killing off the challenge from a sinking Rangers side that was seven points ahead of them at Christmas.
Since a 2-1 loss in Dingwall on December 17, Aberdeen have rattled off 10 wins in 11 matches, with only that narrow midweek reverse at Celtic Park ruining another impressive sequence. Keeping up that relentless work was, predictably, the focus for manager Derek McInnes rather than stopping to stare in admiration at the yawning gap opened up on their rivals with 12 games to go.
‘I think that’s 14 points we have on Hearts now but I feel it’s gone to that very quickly, which suggests it can quickly go the other way,’ said McInnes.
‘Okay, it’s good to look at the league table but we want to look at it with the same pleasure at the end of the season. We’re in a strong position but not home and dry yet.’
County met with a 4-0 defeat here in October but had been successful spoilers on the road elsewhere against top six sides — grinding out two draws at Ibrox, settling for a stalemate at Hearts, scoring four at Perth.
They had their chances either side of the interval to gain a result, not least a huge opportunity for Andrew Davies, who was not picked up at a corner but flashed his free header harmlessly wide.
Alex Schalk’s movement and speed caused Aberdeen defenders to stop him by foul means. When Graeme Shinnie had a go, Schalk responded with a free-kick that wandered about wickedly en route to goal.
Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis was off balance when blocking on the line and was glad that Craig Curran could not keep his follow-up volley down.
‘We need to start punishing teams when we have the opportunity to score,’ complained County manager Jim McIntyre. ‘I thought our system was really good for 70 minutes. We frustrated them and looked a threat.’
Lewis also batted away a fierce 22-yard drive from Schalk early in the second half, then did well to stop a header from Davies, which emerged through a crowded penalty area.
With central defenders at the other end, County had restricted Aberdeen to mainly long-range attempts.
In the first period, Rooney could