NO FANS TO THEM
McInnes hails rampant Dons but slates Pittodrie faithful for lack of support when chips were down
ABERDEEN got the hairdryer treatment from their own fans at half-time but returned to blow Kilmarnock away with windassisted goals from Scott McKenna and Niall McGinn.
Trailing to an untidy opener from Kris Boyd, the Dons trudged off to a chorus of boos from a support still smarting from a third defeat of the season to Rangers in midweek.
Rather than buckle, Derek McInnes’s side regained parity through a poacher’s finish from Adam Rooney.
And then McKenna stepped forward to smash his team in front with a 40-yard strike that eclipsed even the goal-of-the-season contender rattled in by Gary Mackay-Steven in last weekend’s Scottish Cup win over St Mirren.
The day was rounded off by a solo effort from McGinn, who was making his first start for the club since re-signing at the turn of the year.
But as pleased as McInnes was by the comeback, he was clearly irked by the pressure placed on his team by its unforgiving fans.
‘The team needed some sort of encouragement and support,’ he said. ‘We reminded them of the doubters at half-time, that they would be taking pleasure from us losing at the break.
‘They weren’t getting much help, but the response and togetherness they showed was magnificent. From start to finish, the second half was everything I wanted.’
Aberdeen had actually started strongly. In the opening half-hour, Shay Logan forced Jamie MacDonald into a smart onehanded save from a half volley, Kenny McLean and MackaySteven saw shots blocked and then McGinn forced the keeper to turn a powerful effort over the bar.
With McGinn and Mackay-Steven looking lively on the flanks, Killie were being pinned back but when they sprung forward it was to deadly effect.
Jordan Jones proved too expensive for Rangers earlier this month and his feet were proving too quick for the Dons defenders to track as the half wore on.
He had a key role in the goal, his run forcing the break from which Greg Taylor fired off his shot from the edge of the box. Boyd got enough of a touch on the ball to flummox Danny Rogers and, after an uncertain few moments in which both sets of players seemed to anticipate an offside flag, referee Craig Thomson signalled towards the centre circle.
Jones came close to doubling the lead but Rogers’ low save tempered the severity of the fans’ reaction at the interval.
Buoyed by McInnes’s encouragement, Aberdeen came back at Killie like a steam train, with McKenna stoking the coals.
The young defender launched himself at McGinn’s corner to head goalwards. The ball clipped Killie substitute Lee Erwin, was diverted on to the bar by MacDonald and there was Rooney to apply a sniffer’s touch on the line.
Mistakenly announced as the scorer, McKenna avoided any semblance of doubt with a moment of glory that came from nowhere.
McGinn recycled possession from the right wing and, as the centreback stepped on to it, a speculative chip into the box or another switch wide seemed the probable options.
Instead he decided to have a whack. MacDonald’s starting position was all wrong and, with the wind doing its bit to affect the arc of the ball, McKenna had claimed himself a goal which will be remembered for a long time.
In for the injured Joe Lewis, Rogers enjoyed a perfect view of the strike from the other end of the field.
He said: ‘I couldn’t believe he hit it. The ball was moving everywhere, it was horrible.
‘I wouldn’t have liked to have been on the end of it.’
After two good seasons on loan at Falkirk, this was Rogers’ first start for his parent club.
Lewis faces knee surgery and an extended period of rehabilitation and although Rogers may well find himself supplanted by a new goalkeeper before the transfer deadline passes on Wednesday, he was as important as any outfield player in claiming the points.
The Irishman was called on to save Kris Boyd’s powerful 25-yard free-kick but even better was his brave, reflexive save from Youssouf Mulumbu on the rebound. Later, at 3-1, he made another vital intervention to turn Stephen O’Donnell’s shot over the bar.
Killie’s quest for parity stretched the game and it was on the break that Aberdeen claimed the windassisted clincher. Crowded out by McGinn and Mackay-Steven, Gary Dicker was caught in possession with the former taking the ball for a long run before jinking rightwards and unleashing a shot from the edge of the box that dipped and swerved past the truly unfortunate MacDonald.
McGinn celebrated animatedly, reflecting the frustrations of his lucrative but ultimately unfulfilling six-month stint in South Korea.
‘In every good performance you need star players and, for me, Niall McGinn was the star of the show,’ added McInnes. ‘We’ve been trying to be cautious with him, trying to work him up to speed, but you can only hold somebody of that quality back so long.
‘We just said to him: “Give us everything you’ve got”. You saw how happy he was when he scored his goal. He has a great feeling for this place and it is mutual.’