DUK WHO’S BACK!
Stefan hails Dons hitman for returning to the goal trail
STEFAN Gartenman insists Aberdeen will climb the table if Duk can get back to the levels he hit last season.
The striker claimed 18 goals last term but his strike partner Bojan Miovski has left him in the shadows this time around.
Duk has struggled to reproduce his first-season heroics and even though he has shown flashes, it hasn’t been enough to light up his or Aberdeen’s stuttering season.
The Cape Verde international has also had to cope with the disappointment of missing out on the Africa Cup of Nations and a failed deadline-day bid from Spanish side Leganes.
Boss Neil Warnock claimed he has had to pick Duk up and that certainly looked to be the case as he came off the bench to net a double, helping the Dons come back from 3-0 down to sensationally claim a point against Motherwell.
Gartenmann said: “We all hope to see the Duk from last season. We have seen it in moments. We see it every now and then.
“When I see some of the goals he scored last season he just has a top level that is unheard of.
“If we can get that Duk back with the Bojan we have this season then we will start to win games.
“Then it is up to us to start getting clean sheets as well.
“We haven’t had many of those either and that is a big task. If we can get clean sheets then we will win games.”
Miovski had scored almost all of Aberdeen’s goals so far this year before Wednesday.
Now Warnock’s issue isn’t scoring but trying to keep them out at the opposite end.
He went with a three-man defence of Nicky Devlin, Gartenmann and Jack MacKenzie against Motherwell, after Richard Jensen called off ill.
It didn’t work as his side were 3-0 down within half an hour and he had to make changes.
A shell-shocked Gartenmann said: “I would prefer a lower scoring game. As a defender, I never love to see three goals against us the way it happened on Wednesday. “Going 3-0 down to Motherwell at home isn’t acceptable. “Yes, we came back and got a point but we shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position and be 3-0 down to any team.
“It doesn’t matter if it is Motherwell or Bayern Munich.
“We were happy to come back but we are still disappointed with the way we played.” The Dons star knows his side need to tighten up and make Pittodrie more of a fortress.
He wants that to start when Hibs visit tomorrow.
Gartenmann said: “We were just all over the place.
“We weren’t winning any duels and we weren’t making the passes we spoke about.
“We were behind them all the time. We were behind them on the front foot and we were struggling to get in the game.
“The distances were way too high and everything we talked about leading up the game were thrown out the window.
“We were all over the place but luckily we made some tactical changes and we made some changes mentally as well.
“Of course, the goal helped also. That made us believe and the crowd saw there was the possibility of us coming back as well.
“That helped us a little bit. We are delighted to come back and get a point but we shouldn’t be a team who is happy getting a point at home to Motherwell.
“This is supposed to be our fortress and the place where we get more points and we need to start winning at Pittodrie again.”
Gartenman netted Aberdeen’s second and admitted their comeback wouldn’t have been possible if the Red Army hadn’t stuck by them.
He said: “We have been hard on our fans this season.
“They have seen some really poor performances. I don’t think they will be happy with those first 30 minutes. We have to give them credit for sticking with us.
“We could feel it when we went 3-1 and 3-2 that they were there. That got to the Motherwell players as well.
“When that happens at Pittodrie it is a difficult place to be for the other team.”
Now he wants to reward them with three points against Hibs. Gartenmann said: “We do know how to beat Hibs. We did that in the cup.
“They are in a similar position to us at the moment.
“They haven’t won for a long time either.
“With the last 45 to 60 minutes on Wednesday, the people around the club and the people in the dressing room will feel that this is the Aberdeen we want to see.”
Some of the goals he scored last season, he just has that top level that’s unheard of STEFAN GARTENMANN on DONS’ DUK