Slammin’ Sam
Aberdeen’s Sam Cosgrove celebrates wrapping up the points after making it 2-0 in injury-time for the Dons at Livingston
Livingston 0 Aberdeen 2
They are in the midst of an injury crisis.
But what Aberdeen lacked in numbers, they made up for in spirit as they claimed a hard-fought win at Livingston.
Without the likes of Scott Mckenna, Craig Bryson, Funso Ojo, Ash Taylor and Stephen Gleeson – and with top scorer Sam Cosgrove relegated to the bench with a groin strain – the Dons were down to the bare bones.
Yet after Andrew Considine snatched a first-half opener against the run of play, they weathered a Livi storm before Cosgrove notched from the spot in injury time.
In truth, Livingston played the better football throughout.
But for their gutted gaffer, Gary Holt, that provided little comfort.
“It’s no consolation,” he said. “I’ve praised the players and told them to get their heads up.
“But we’re all disappointed – we’ve lost the game. I can’t sugar-coat it. It still hurts.
“It’s a feeling I’d rather not have. To a man, the players were excellent and I have to pat them on the back for that.
“But I’d rather not be praising them after a defeat.
“The players are hurt. The first goal was bread and butter defending. The second was a breakaway.
“Effort, commitment, I can’t fault them, so it’s a sore one, same as last week was a sore one.
“But we have to learn from it because we can’t keep saying it’s a sore one each week.”
The Dons were miles from full strength at Livi – and it showed in the early stages.
The home side were well on top, and could have been two goals up inside 25 minutes.
First Scott Robinson fluffed a golden chance after being slipped through on goal by Steven Lawless, allowing Joe Lewis to stop his weak effort as the goal gaped.
Then Chris Erskine fired a curling left-footed effort a whisker over the bar after Robinson found him in space.
It felt like a matter of time until Livi’s superiority bore fruit.
Instead, the Dons snatched the lead on 29 minutes when Considine arrived in the box to side-foot Ryan Hedges’ corner past Ross Stewart from close range.
Gary Holt’s side had every right to feel hard done by, but they only had themselves to blame for their failure to square the game before the break.
Had Marvin Bartley shot after latching on to an uncharacteristically slack Considine pass, they might well have done so.
Instead the former Hibs man tried to find Robbie Crawford inthebox,andthechance went a-begging.
The pattern continued into the second half, with Livi on the front foot.
But Aberdeen, with a lead to protect, seemed happy enough to soak up the pressure, allowing their hosts to hold the ball in safe areas, defending hell for leather in their own box.
It was an exercise in pragmatism for the visitors – with securing three points the sole aim.
It wasn’t pretty. At times, for the healthy travelling support, it was enraging.
They saw their side’s approach as ambitionless – and they weren’t shy about expressing their displeasure. But it did the job.
There were a few worrying moments along the way for the Dons, not least when Livi’s Jon Guthrie saw an effort strike both the bar and the post before being cleared.
Yet they put a shine on the scoreline at the death when Sam Cosgrove slammed home from the spot after being felled in the box by Keaghan Jacobs.