Dons back on track but Steelmen stuck in a rut
ABERDEEN 2 Hoban (15), Considine (77) Tommie Hoban and Andrew Considine’s first goals of the season were enough to move Aberdeen back above Hibs into third place in the Premiership table.
It also cut Celtic’s advantage in second to four points with the clubs still to meet three times in the league this season.
That, and the way his side bounced back from last week’s defeat to Ross County, left Derek Mcinnes defiantly confident it will be another good season for the Dons.
That wasn’t the opinion of some in the Red Army just seven days ago who wanted their manager replaced but they should be careful what they wish for.
The signs are Aberdeen will maintain the standards Mcinnes has set since taking over and he was quick to put things in context.
He said:”we go back to third in the table and are actually five points better off than we were at this stage last season.
“Now we move on to St Johnstone and hopefully we can build on today’s performance and result.
“We have only had five defeats this season and three were in the league against Rangers.
“In general our level of performance has been good enough to get us where we are.”
Any doubts about how much Aberdeen’s players were hurting after last week’s thrashing afrom Ross County were quickly swept away yesterday.
Ryan Hedges, for one, threatened to blow Motherwell away after missing that game through suspension and led by example on his return.
In the opening 20 minutes alone the former Barnsley winger teased and tormented his way into goalscoring positions only to see two shots fizz narrowly wide.
There was also a delicious driven cross that
three of his team-mates failed to get on the endof.
Meanwhile the Dons were more solid at the back and had to be after taking a 15th minute lead thanks to a moment of set-piece quality.
Matty Kennedy delivered a wonderful inswinging free-kick from the right wing and Hoban rose to direct a header Liam Kelly couldn’t get near.
However, Motherwell are more resilient under Graham Alexander with Tony Watt showing glimpses of why he was so highly rated as a youngster with Celtic.
First he intelligently spun into space down the left before forcing Joe Lewis into a strong parry. Sherwin Seedorf’s follow-up seemed to be blocked by Funso Ojo’s arm but the referee didn’t deem it deliberate.
Then Watt deserved greater reward than to see the parting shot from 20 yards bounce back into Lewis’s grateful arms via the inside of an upright.
He had able support from midfielders Allan Campbell, Robbie Crawford and Polworth, although the latter’s afternoon always looked
like finishing prematurely after an incident in 27 minutes.
Both he and Scott Wright were booked for a collision which sparked a mass bust-up with Declan Gallagher having to restrain Polworth while Ojo was also cautioned for his part.
There was no saving him a couple of minutes after the interval though when the referee played advantage in Motherwell’s favour after his collision with Lewis Ferguson.
Polworth ended on the deck with a damaged shoulder and when Napier went to check on him something was said that drew a straight red card.
His manager was furious at the official’s decision and earned a yellow of his own later for more strong vocal complaints.
Not that there could be any about the end result as only as series of superb Liam Kelly saves kept the scoreline close until Considine pounced in 77 minutes.
That had a more than a touch of bad luck about it for the Steelmen as Ferguson’s shot from Kennedy’s corner was deflected into the defender’s path.