TAYLOR-MADE
Defender seals it as Dons claim the points
IT was a case of job done for Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes after watching his players climb up to third in the Premiership with a hard-earned three points against St Johnstone.
The Dons are now two points ahead of Hibernian in the race for third and have a game in hand on the Easter Road side.
McInnes’s players have yet to really hit top form this season, but they are well placed going into the second half of the campaign.
In a match battered by high winds from the North Sea and punctuated by baffling decisions from referee Alan Muir, it was the unlikely figure of Ash Taylor who popped up to seal victory.
McInnes said: ‘It is about trying to do all you can about getting the result, especially when it is as wild as that and the pitch is so dry and bobbly. I thought we were pretty comfortable but there was no fun out there. The enjoyment comes from the result and we can now relax and enjoy it.
‘We are halfway through the league with a total of 38 points and are well on track to securing another European spot
‘We are being tested as we are stretched with injuries and suspensions but we are still digging out results like today.’
McInnes hailed Taylor, an often derided figure, but on this occasion, the matchwinner. He added: ‘Ash will get a bit of recognition because he scored the winning goal, and rightly so.
‘He’s been outstanding in the last three games as part of a back three which had kept three clean sheets in a row and we’re disappointed we haven’t made it four.
‘He’s a big lad and can be an easy target at times. But in games like that when you need him to stand up, take responsibility and be a giant for us, he was exactly that.’
Saints’ pre-match game plan was thrown into disarray just four minutes after kick-off when Scott Tanser suffered a serious-looking injury and had to be replaced by
Callum Booth. It was the only incident of note in a draining first 38 minutes that otherwise just included off-target long-range efforts by Lewis Ferguson, David Wotherspoon and Ali McCann.
The visitors then took the lead and the game received a welcome boost in intensity. Liam Craig swung in a corner and Dons keeper Joe Lewis made a hash of it, racing off his line to collect the delivery but getting caught in no-man’s-land when it became clear he wouldn’t reach it.
The hosts’ defending was poor, allowing Liam Gordon a free header at the back post. With Lewis stranded, the Saints man’s effort bounced off the turf and looped over the stopper, who could only watch as it trickled into the net.
Aberdeen had been supine until then. With Ross McCrorie banned, their midfield lacked urgency, no one willing to penetrate the lines. Sam Cosgrove smashed an effort straight at Zander Clark from the edge of the box which the keeper managed to turn wide, although it eventually led to the equaliser.
As Aberdeen pressed, Andrew Considine wanted a penalty when his goalbound effort was blocked by the arms of Booth. Referee Muir waved away the claims but pointed to the spot moments later when Cosgrove fell to the deck under the attentions of Shaun Rooney. Of the two claims, the first was the most convincing.
Cosgrove stepped up and sent Clark the wrong way to restore parity before Aberdeen took a grip of the game just nine minutes after the restart. Ferguson’s corner caused chaos in the Saints box and it was Taylor who was on hand to stab the ball into the bottom corner.
Saints never really threatened to equalise, substitute Callum Hendry’s off-target free-kick the closest they came.
Indeed, their day was to get worse when the striker was sent off in stoppage time for a second bookable offence.
Perth boss Callum Davidson said: ‘I’m baffled by the penalty decision. I’m not sure what it was given for as there was no tug — so it’s a baffling one. Did I speak to Alan Muir? Yes, I did but I’m not saying any more.
‘If someone falls to the floor in the box it has to be definite. We were comfortable in the game until that decision, it was the 45th minute and it changed the game massively in Aberdeen’s favour.
‘We played well in the first half but after that I was disappointed because we gave away a goal from a set play.
‘We put a lot of effort into the game and it was one where a draw would have been the right result.’
ABERDEEN (3-4-1-2): Lewis; Taylor, Hoban, Considine; Kennedy, Ferguson, Campbell, Hayes; Hedges; Cosgrove (Ojo 89), Main (Edmondson 72).
Subs (not used): Woods, Logan, McGinn, Hanratty, Ngwenya, Ramsay, Duncan. Booked: Cosgrove.
St JOHNSTONE (3-5-2): Clark; McCart, Gordon, Rooney; McNamara, McCann, Wotherspoon, Craig (Melamed 86), Tanser (Booth 4); May, Kane (Hendry 67). Subs (not used): Parish, Bryson, Davidson, Conway, Ferguson, Denham. Booked: McCann, Craig, Hendry. Sent off: Hendry.
Referee: Alan Muir.