Andreu not real sinner as Goodwin plays the blame game

JIM GOODWIN greeted Tony Andreu with an arm around the shoulders as he sloped off the pitch, a nightmare of an afternoon being brought to a halt with the hook. Fair play to the St Mirren manager for resisting the temptation to wring his neck.

Perhaps he was still just too preoccupied with dark thoughts about getting his hands on referee Steven McLean.

At that stage, goals from Sam Cosgrove and Niall McGinn, scored either side of a Jonathan Obika effort, had Aberdeen on track for three points that would keep them third in the Premiership.

However, the truth is that they were hanging on by their fingernails against a team only clear of bottom spot on goal difference.

Andreu had so much to do with that. He’d passed up a great chance in the opening 45 seconds when through and blundered when given a clear shot at goal from inside the area 15 minutes from the end.

Salvation beckoned, though, in the 83rd minute. With Obika having latched on to a long ball, nodded it past Joe Lewis and gone down after being struck by the goalkeeper’s outstretched left arm, a penalty was awarded.

Andreu demanded the responsibility of taking it — and made a howling mess of the whole thing.

The Frenchman’s initial effort was well enough struck, just too close to Lewis. When the rebound from the save made its way back to him, though, his second effort was powderpuff — allowing the home captain to save again.

What else could Goodwin do other than haul him off and put on Junior Morias? The real source of his frustration after the match, though, was McLean for failing to send Lewis off before the spot-kick was even taken.

‘It should have been a red,’ said the Saints boss. ‘Jon has knocked the ball by him and he’s almost clotheslined him.

‘I’m the last person who is going to come out and want people sent off, but my understanding of the law was that if it wasn’t a genuine attempt to go for the ball, then he’s got to go.

‘He (the referee) thought it was an attempt for the ball. You could say it is a poor penalty. I feel sorry for Tony. At least he had the courage.’

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes, however, defended his keeper and insisted it was right he stayed on.

‘I think he could have been far more blatant in trying to take him down,’ he said. ‘I thought it was a yellow card, not anything more.

‘I am annoyed and aggrieved how we can get ourselves in that situation — a straight ball from left centrehalf into that channel and, all of a sudden, we are running about with our pants on fire.

‘There is no doubt we deserved to win the game, as much as St Mirren were good in periods.’

That is open to debate. Aberdeen never appeared all that comfortable — right from that very first minute, when Lewis had to make himself big to make a point-blank stop from Andreu’s effort.

Even when they went ahead through Cosgrove shortly afterwards, the levels of possession enjoyed by the visitors always threatened to translate into chances.

Cosgrove’s 18th goal of the season was just one part of a display that underlined his importance. A ball in from Ryan Hedges was cleared by Sean McLoughlin into his path and his effort from 12 yards appeared to take the slightest of deflections before soaring high into the net.

When Lewis Ferguson put a header just wide from close in, though, it paved the way for Saints to level at the midway point of the opening 45.

Ryan Flynn powered through challenges from Greg Leigh and

Hedges on the right and his low ball into the area allowed Obika to convert from just a matter of yards.

Opportunities came and went at either end ahead of the interval with Gary MacKenzie heading over for the visitors and Cosgrove seeing a header from a Hedges corner nodded off the line by Calum Waters.

Immediately after the break, though, came the spell that made the difference. The Dons started strongly with Hedges blazing wide from a great position following good lead-up work from Cosgrove.

McGinn showed within minutes, what clinical finishing is all about.

Ferguson backheeled the ball for Hedges, he delivered a low cross and the Northern Irishman took a touch before smashing a superb effort high past Vaclav Hladky for the 500th goal of McInnes’ reign.

Having finally rediscovered their rhythm, Goodwin’s side came close to getting back on level terms just before the hour. Obika rose highest to send a header from a Flynn cross back across goal and Kyle Magennis just couldn’t get enough on it to divert the ball in at the back post.

It was only a half chance, to be fair. The opportunity presented to Andreu with a quarter of an hour to go was far more than that.

With Saints knocking the ball around, Sam Foley was the provider for the Frenchman. This time, he put in a ball from the right that found Andreu unmarked right in the middle of the area.

He had no option but to strike it first time. He should have done far better than allowing it to skid off his boot and bounce high and wide.

It was no more than a taste of further horrors to come.