Deadly Dons crush Staggies with ease
THE Red Army marched to Pittodrie through freezing wind and rain.
But Aberdeen got them warmed up for the Cup with a red-hot rout of Ross County.
Jonny Hayes, Shay Logan, Niall McGinn and Jayden Stockley struck against the Staggies to earn the deadly Dons their fifth win on the spin.
It kept Celtic in their sights at the summit of the Premiership – and ensured they still have the comfort of a three-point cushion over Rangers.
But it also set them up perfectly for next weekend’s League Cup semi-final clash with Morton, a fact not lost on Derek McInnes.
“When the draw was made I said it was important we try to get a good run of league form going into it,” said the satisfied Dons boss.
“We had to have that focus. And I think since we won at Dundee last month we’ve had that killer instinct about us.
“The players are enjoying winning, the level of performance has been going up, and today we get another clean sheet and score four goals.
“The performance was strong again. The conditions were difficult for both sets of players, but we fought for every advantage we got.
“With Morton winning 5-0 at Queen of the South they will be confident, but for us, it’s all about getting through, and results like today – and the run we’ve been on – help us going into it.
“We’ll go to Hampden next week confident, as any Aberdeen team should be going into a semi-final and, hopefully, we take care of what we need to take care of.”
The sheets of sideways rain that must have swaddled the Pittodrie punters on their hunched-up, eyes-half-shut shuffle to see their heroes didn’t dampen the on-field offering.
Even before kick-off, a look at the teams told the story.
Out of 22 players, only six sensitive souls opted for long sleeves, with the remainder choosing to bear bare arms against the first truly dreadful weather conditions of the campaign.
They breed ’em tough in the Granite City – and County’s hopes of a first win since August were quickly dashed by the rocking Reds.
Hayes’ opener took 20 minutes to arrive, but, for the Staggies, they were 20 minutes of terror.
The Dons had already seen an Adam Rooney header, served up by a trademark Hayes delivery, ruled out for offside, and yet another, this time teed-up perfectly by Niall McGinn, whistle just over the bar before the deadlock was broken.
Jim McIntyre’s side were reeling , but it was about to become a fatal tailspin.
Hayes’ strike, a vicious, arrowed, 15-yard effort from a tight, left-flank angle, started it off.
The straight red card flashed at County midfielder Tim Chow for a wild, two-footed challenge on the Dons star just one minute later turned it terminal.
In the aftermath, Aberdeen, with all their star men firing, applied near-relentless pressure.
Shay Logan increased their lead just after the half-hour, cutely side-footing home after Scott Fox palmed the ever-industrious Graeme Shinnie’s drive to the edge of the sixyard box. But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Dons. If not for a pair of terrific stops by Joe Lewis at the end of the first-half, Michael Gardyne would surely have pulled one back for County at the very least.
But as the short-handed Staggies tired, Derek McInnes’ side became dominant once again.
The increasingly deadly McGinn took advantage first, side-footing home from 10 yards after Logan’s smart cut back, before substitute Jayden Stockley slammed home from close range after Hayes’ neat pass.
The raw stats – no wins in six – make for grim reading for County fans. But for gaffer Jim McIntyre they do not tell the whole story.
“That statistic does not worry me at all,” he insists.
“We’re going through a wee period just now, but we’re a good side. We just have to keep grafting away and it will come good.”