Shaughnessy plea to Dons’ support

Defender Shaughnessy’s plea to Red Army after gallant display in home defeat

Defender Joe Shaughnessy has urged the Aberdeen supporters to stick with their team following the club’s 2-0 defeat by Celtic. Two wins from the first two games of the season led to the Dons playing in front of a near sellout crowd of more than 20,000.

Defender Joe Shaughnessy has urged the Aberdeen supporters to stick with their team following the club’s 2-0 defeat by Celtic on Saturday.

Two wins from the first two games of the season led to the Dons playing in front of a near sellout crowd of more than 20,000 for the first time in six years in the league.

Irish defender Shaughnessy, pictured, hopes the Dons performance will convince the majority to keep attending.

Aberdeen’s hopes were dashed just before half-time when goalkeeper Jamie Langfield was sent off for fouling Georgios Samaras.

Kris Commons scored from the spot past Nicky Weaver with James Forrest adding a fortunate second late in the game when his shot deflected in off defender Mark Reynolds.

Shaughnessy was disappointed by the defeat but said: “It’s really important the crowd stays with us. They were amazing and it’s the first time I’ve seen the stadium packed out here. It gave us a big lift and hopefully they will stay with us and we can get a big win in our next home game.

“It makes a big difference when you are getting big crowds at home. It’s great to

“It makes a big difference when you are getting big crowds at home. It’s great to see the seats are full”

walk out of the tunnel and see the seats are full. There is potential here to fill the place every week, but we have to keep winning. If we do that I amsure they will keep coming. The supporters were right behind us all the way and going down to 10 men seemed to put them behind us even more.

“It’s important how we respond to this. We lost the game but the performance was good and we didn’t let Celtic break us down. Hopefully we will bounce back.”

The Dons played the second half with 10 men following the dismissal of Langfield. The home support was aggrieved by the decision but Shaughnessy was pleased with how he and his team-mates coped with being a man down. He said: “The red card was the turning point. We did well with 10.”

EARLY BATH: Dons goalkeeper Jamie Langfield sees red from referee Calum Murray after fouling Georgios Samaras Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes bemoaned goalkeeper Jamie Langfield’s sending-off as the turning point in Saturday’s 2-0 home loss to Celtic as...