Blundering Aberdeen post title sick note
Virus-hit Motherwell shatter McInnes’ side’s challenge with two goals in two minutes
IT was supposed to be Motherwell who were struggling with the sickness bug which had swept Fir Park, but instead it was Aberdeen’s title hopes which ended up floored as the Dons self-destructed in a catastrophic six-minute spell and gifted Mark McGhee’s men a stunning win.
Aberdeen were already reeling from the pre-match blow of Celtic’s last-minute winner at Rugby Park, but it seemed to be business as usual for Derek McInnes’ side as they took the lead just before half-time through a Kenny McLean penalty.
The Dons’ last seven wins had come courtesy of a one-goal margin and they seemed perfectly content to do it again yesterday by inviting their hosts to attack. However, it was to prove to be a fatal error.
Motherwell had, at one stage, even discussed calling the game off due to the virus, but if Aberdeen expected their hosts to weaken the longer the game went on, they were in for a terrible surprise.
Firstly, the smallest man on the park, Scott McDonald, was somehow allowed to steal in and head home the equaliser after some awful defending. Then Dons keeper Scott Brown and centre-half Mark Reynolds combined to gift predator Louis Moult a winner.
To top it all for the shattered visitors, veteran midfielder Barry Robson then completely lost his discipline by elbowing McDonald and was sent off.
Aberdeen will not admit it, of course, but this demoralising defeat has surely spelled the end of their title challenge and they have no one to blame but themselves.
Their visiting support of almost 2,500 trooped out of Fir Park knowing that their hopes of a first championship win in 31 years have all but gone.
For Motherwell, victory propelled them to fifth place in a week when they were supposed to be down to the bare bones, and what a boost it has given to their top-six hopes.
Actually, for all Motherwell’s well-documented health problems, only Ben Hall was actually ruled out through illness. The absence of Keith Lasley and Stephen Pearson was down to injury.
But the saddest loss was the news that one-time Scotland hero James McFadden had broken his ankle in training this week and his Fir Park career may be at an end. The Motherwell talisman had three spells at the club, but with his contract expiring at end of the season, he may have kicked his last ball for the Lanarkshire men.
There were no such worries for McInnes, with the notable exception of top scorer Adam Rooney who remains on the sidelines.
The Aberdeen players warming up before the game were told of that last-gasp winner at Kilmarnock and their heads must have dropped.
But it made little impact on a decent Dons start, watched by former Manchester United boss and reported Celtic managerial target David Moyes, and Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill in the main stand. Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack forced a decent save from Motherwell keeper Connor Ripley with a low drilled shot.
Motherwell did creep into the encounter, though, and Moult lashed a shot against the outside of the post with Brown beaten.
And it was slightly against the run of play when the Pittodrie side took the lead a minute before the interval after a pacy counter-attack. McLean nipped in to touch the ball to full-back Graeme Shinnie, who had been unusually quiet after a first-half knock.
The former Inverness man knocked a brilliant pass to the onrushing Jonny Hayes, who was cleaned out by a despairing tackle from Kiernan Kennedy. Referee Don Robertson only showed a yellow card to the young defender when it was arguably a goalscoring opportunity.
Aberdeen have not missed a penalty kick all season, although it had been Rooney who had converted them all. This time it was McLean who coolly sent Ripley the wrong way.
They had the chance to put the game to bed moments later when Hayes was sent clear, but Ripley deserved enormous credit for rushing from his goal to narrow the angle and make a fine save.
Ripley kept Motherwell in it with a fine stop after Hayes had again zipped forward on a counter-attack. When the ball was played across to Simon Church, although he mis-kicked, Aberdeen were still able to tee it up for McLean, who was lurking on the edge of the box, and his fierce drive was tipped wide by the goalkeeper.
From the resulting corner, the Dons came even closer when Church flicked Andrew Considine’s header against the bar.
Just when it looked as though Aberdeen would extend their lead, Motherwell absolutely ripped them apart with two goals in two minutes, and the visitors’ flaky defence and goalkeeper were entirely to blame.
With 17 minutes left, Motherwell played in several crosses from one side of the park to the other, and Ash Taylor and Reynolds seemed unable to deal with them. When Lionel Ainsworth swung in a deep ball, Brown stayed static on his line and McDonald was somehow able to nip in at the back post with a looping header that bounced over the stranded goalie.
Shell-shocked Aberdeen then conceded an even worse goal two minutes later. A long ball should have been food and drink to either Reynolds or Brown, but they seemed to hesitate and leave it to each other which allowed Moult to nip in and lob the ball over the keeper.
It was a disastrous goal to lose, but it somehow got even worse when Robson, who had been on the park for just over a minute, appeared to elbow his former Celtic team-mate McDonald. Referee Robertson immediately flashed a red card.