Glass nearing breaking point as Dons sink in Fir Park storm
Steelmen surge back as Aberdeen pay price for another erratic display
RAIN, sleet, hail, gales, brass monkeys temperatures and then blue skies and sunshine and back again. All within the space of an hour. Yet, when it comes to changeability and unpredictability and plain old flakiness, the Scottish weather still can’t hold a candle to Stephen Glass’ Aberdeen.
What a mob they are. Atrocious for an hour against Livingston last weekend before throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them at the death. Bystanders against Celtic for 45 minutes in midweek before having a go, scoring twice and being more than a little unlucky in the end.
And then here. A season on the line, a goal to the good after three minutes and, still, intent on doing the old Jekyll and Hyde routine.
Ahead after Christian Ramirez’s quickfire opener and backed by a vocal 2000-strong away support, this was a time for these players to answer their manager’s questions from earlier in the week over mentality and attitude.
Yet, they imploded during a 25-minute spell at the end of the first half, stopped functioning, conceded twice to the excellent Kevin van Veen and Connor Shields and rendered their entire campaign a failure before we have even reached the middle of February.
As if to sum up their erratic nature, they then rallied in the last five minutes, bombarding their hosts, even putting goalkeeper Gary Woods up for corners. Lewis Ferguson sent a low shot wide, substitute Connor Barron hit the side-netting and then Ramirez was denied by a superb save from Liam Kelly in time added-on after being set up by Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.
They still deserved nothing, though. The right team won.
And as much as chairman Dave Cormack, in the main stand yesterday, has invested in Glass after bringing him from partner club Atlanta United last March, you hardly need the forecasting skills of the Met Office to predict that this can’t go on indefinitely.
The management team and players walking up the stairs of the South Stand to be barracked by their own punters at the end was painful, but inevitable. Ferguson even appeared to gesture back.
For a club boasting a £9millionplus wage bill, however, being bowled out of the League Cup by Raith, exiting the Scottish in the last 16 and sitting ninth in the Premiership with 13 games is the sort of stuff that has to end with blood on the carpet.
Motherwell actually had the ball in the net in the very first minute, Joe Efford ruled offside when moving into the box to finish.
However, in those opening exchanges, it looked like Aberdeen had turned up to go to war both against their hosts and the most wicked, inclement conditions. Two minutes after that early effort had been disallowed, they edged in front.
The ball broke to Ross McCrorie, later replaced by Calvin Ramsay at full-back after being injured, on the right and he fired in a terrific cross into the area for Ramirez to plant a header beyond Kelly.
His finish sparked a pitch invasion from a collection of angry punters in the area reserved for the Motherwell Bois fan group. Shortly afterwards, after they had been ushered back to their seats and had their mums phoned, the big American came close to making it 2-0.
He got in ahead of Jake Carroll when jousting for a hopeful ball forward, spotted Kelly off his line and attempted an ambitious lob that landed just the wrong side of the goalkeeper’s right-hand post.
It is hard not to feel sorry for Ramirez. Before the game, he spoke about the agony of his goals going to waste. And lo and behold, No 15 of the season proved another one to add to the collection.
Aberdeen’s complete lack of fortitude and consistency of application became painfully apparent as the first half wore on. Shields put a header just wide and Sondre Solholm Johansen diverted the ball over from close range after meeting a Sean Goss free-kick before Van Veen levelled.
Aberdeen, nervy and disorganised, failed to clear their lines and Efford managed to nudge the ball into the Dutchman’s path on the right side of the area. Wasting no time, he took aim, released a left-footed shot that deflected off David Bates and past Woods.
He’d been involved in a niggle with former Motherwell favourite Declan Gallagher throughout and his celebration involved seeking out the Aberdeen centre-back and getting right in his face. A sure-fire recipe for yellow cards all round.
Dons were on the rack. Goss sidefooted one effort into the net, Liam Donnelly came desperately close after making contact on a Solholm Johansen knockdown and seeing the ball go just wide and what proved to be the winner in the end came in time added-on.
Goss fired a corner in from the right that caught the wind and ended up right on top of Woods. He couldn’t grab it, the ball spilled to Bevis Mugabi and he nudged it forwards in a packed penalty area.
As all around him lost their heads, though, Shields kept his. He took a touch and coolly sidefooted home.
Van Veen, who has now scored four times in three wins against Aberdeen, was denied by a good save from Woods early in the second period with Shields and Mark O’Hara sending efforts just over.
Van Veen then put a great chance wide after a mistake by Bates on 77 minutes and that paved the way for Aberdeen to stage a last-gasp rally.
Yet, it was too little, too late to save the Red Army a miserable trip home in miserable conditions. But the poor weather was the least of the Dons fans’ concerns.