Dons keep the good times rolling as Killie come a cropper
THERE was a widely shared clip in t he build- up to this clash at P i t t o d r i e where Aberdeen supporters were asked how they felt about a return to the football.
“Buzzing,” one remarked. “It’ll mean the world to me,” said another.
One of the Dons’ more seasoned fans, who must have been there for the halcyon days of Sir Alex Ferguson and Gothenburg, took a more cautious tone.
“Well, I’m not sure excited is the word,” the elderly fella told the BBC. “It’s Aberdeen.”
No one could begrudge him putting his own words to the side on Saturday night as Derek McInnes’ team and their electric front three proved just dandy.
Not that the Dons manager allowed himself to get carried away in the aftermath of the 1-0 win, with Ross McCrorie’s first goal for the club the difference as the hosts stood firm against an improved Kilmarnock in the second half.
“It keeps the winning run going and I was pleased with a lot of aspects,” McInnes said. “The speed in the team and the quick support were very pleasing.
“The goal was an example of that and it was a real quality finish from Ross. He made it look a lot easier than it was.
“You can see from some of our play in the first half and when you select a team as we did, it is exciting when it is right.
“Joe [Lewis] has had one save to make but we still gave Kilmarnock a little bit too much encouragement in the second half.”
This should have been all about the game going ahead, regardless of the result, and the fans heading home from Pittodrie unhindered after their first taste of the ‘ new normal’.
Try telling that to the Aberdeen supporters, who were treated to a performance full of vigour and energy, which suggested McInnes is going some way to finally putting together his ideal starting XI.
“We were aware they were there from the warm-up,” McInnes added. “It wasn’t lost on us the importance of today.
“There were some real sparkling moments in the first half and the fans will have appreciated that.”
A key ingredient to the new look, all-action Aberdeen was their vibrant front three of Marley Watkins, Ryan Hedges, and Scott Wright, with the trio leading the charge whenever McInnes’ men ventured into the Killie half.
Hedges was guilty of overplaying in the game’s opening stages when he dangerously cut inside Calum Waters, but made up for it when his corner forced Danny Rodgers to push the ball away from under his own crossbar.
It was the most threatening either side had been in a full-throttle opening 15, but soon Aberdeen had the lead. A flick from Wright was picked up by Watkins, nudged into his team-mate’s path, and Wright’s burst down the left opened up just enough space for McCrorie to storm into the Killie box and stroke an angled finish beyond the helpless Rodgers.
The crowd, relatively restrained until then, made the most of their first chance to celebrate an Aberdeen goal in six months and you’d have been forgiven for thinking an extra few hundred had snuck in.
The Dons kept on coming with wave after wave, led by the increasingly influential Hedges. With his languid style and flowing hair, there’s more than a whiff of the Jack Grealish about him and he nearly made it two with a rasping shot that was blocked. Lewis Ferguson, on the follow-up, volleyed just wide.
Kilmarnock, so impressive against Dundee United in their last match before the international break, simply had to get better and, as the half wore on, they finally showed flashes of life.
Greg Kiltie picked a loose ball up on the edge of the box and forced Joe Lewis to claw a goalbound effort away for a corner, before Wright was called into action in his own area when he headed a devilish delivery off his own line.
A subdued second half – a Jonny Hayes rasping effort aside – threatened to dampen the fans’ spirits, only for the game to burst into action in a helter-skelter five minutes which saw Watkins miss a gilt-edged chance at one end and Scott McKenna awkwardly divert over his bar down the other.
A vastly improved Kilmarnock huffed and puffed but never could get close to the levels of their last outing.
“It’s fine margins,” Killie manager Alex Dyer said. “The boys worked hard and played well, especially in the second half. We were on the front foot, created chances, and just weren’t clinical enough to get something out of the game.
“We have to dust ourselves down and go again next week. The boys are sitting in there and they are upset because we didn’t get something out of the game.”