FINE AND DANDY AT HOME FOR ABERDEEN
Killie crushed as Dons thrill Pittodrie again
HAVING now scored 15 goals in their four home games so far in this season’s Premiership, Aberdeen are certainly providing their fans with plenty of entertainment value.
They hit Kilmarnock for four yesterday in an emphatic victory, coming on the back of a 5-0 win over Livingston in their last outing at Pittodrie in late August.
Indeed, Jim Goodwin’s Dons are now the league’s top scorers at home. Little wonder, then, that he was keen to praise his players for a sense of style and attacking flair.
Bojan Miovski scored twice for Aberdeen, the North Macedonian striker who now has eight goals in nine games in all competitions.
How Derek McInnes must wish he had a player of that calibre at the top of the pitch. This proved to be a tough afternoon for the ex-Dons manager on his return to Pittodrie.
Having signed a new long-term deal on the eve of the match, he admitted that his side simply weren’t good enough defensively.
Kyle Lafferty was in the Killie squad, but didn’t get off the bench after being charged by the SFA during the week over an alleged sectarian remark.
As for Goodwin, he was full of praise for his players after they cruised to a victory which now elevates them to fifth in the table.
‘Football first and foremost is about entertainment,’ said the Aberdeen boss. ‘As a young manager, I am desperate to try and play the game in what I believe is the right way to play it.
‘If we all set up playing counterattack football with 11 men behind the ball, it would be extremely boring to watch and manage and extremely boring to play in.
‘I think we all have a responsibility to entertain especially here at home and hopefully the fans go away feeling good.
‘I built the squad in a way which gives me great attacking options. The subs we made don’t weaken the team. All in all, it was a pleasing and convincing performance against a team who were very well organised.
‘Derek is a good, experienced manager and his team is always set up in a way that makes it difficult and hard to beat. But we created plenty of chances and we could have had a few more.’
As he walked along the touchline towards the dugout prior to kick-off, McInnes was afforded a decent reception by the home fans in the main stand.
But his team were soon under pressure as Aberdeen found their stride, left-back Hayden Coulson unleashing a powerful shot from the edge of the box which flew just over the crossbar on 14 minutes.
Killie responded well enough and had a couple of half-chances of their own. But, out of nowhere, they found themselves 2-0 down in the blink of an eye.
The first Aberdeen goal arrived on 22 minutes, when Jonny Hayes found some good space down the left. He crossed into the box and Killie centre-back Ash Taylor couldn’t divert the ball to safety.
His interception was weak and the ball fell perfectly for Vicente Besuijen to shoot low past Zach Hemming.
Hemming then conceded a penalty just over 60 seconds later, bringing down Aberdeen striker Miovski inside the box.
Miovski dusted himself down to convert the spot-kick — only for Kilmarnock to strike back three minutes later.
On a day of Pittodrie reunions, it was fitting that it should be Taylor who scored against his old club.
The veteran centre-back played almost 200 games for the Dons across two stints in the north-east — and he rose well on 27 minutes to glance a header into the far corner from a Liam Polworth corner-kick.
But Aberdeen were now looking dangerous every time they went forward. Coulson, in particular, was causing Killie huge problems with his rampaging runs forward down the left side.
It was his burst into the box and cross which created Aberdeen’s third goal right on the stroke of half-time, Miovski converting at the second attempt after his initial shot had been blocked.
It certainly wasn’t a quiet return for Taylor. Following on from his goal, he was booked shortly after half-time for a trip on Matty Kennedy.
Aberdeen spent the second half largely in cruise control. It was really just a case of how many they would go on to score. They added just one more goal to their tally, skipper Anthony Stewart heading his first for the club from a Hayes corner to make it 4-1 in 63 minutes.
That proved to be the end of the scoring on what was a hugely satisfying afternoon for the Dons. For McInnes, this was not the return he had in mind.
ABERDEEN (4-1-4-1): Roos; Richardson, Stewart, McCrorie, Coulson; Ramadani; Watkins (Morris 67), Besuijen (Ramirez 80), Kennedy (Milne 80), Hayes (Duncan 80); Miovski (Lopes 67). Subs (not used): Lewis, MacKenzie, Morris, Polvara, Lobban. Booked: Watkins. KILMARNOCK (4-4-2): Hemming; Mayo, Wright, Taylor, Chrisene; Jones (Armstrong 65), Power (Warnock 81), Polworth (Alston 70), Lyons (McKenzie 65); Shaw, Doidge (Cameron 65). Subs (not used): Walker, Dorsett, McInroy, Lafferty.
Booked: Jones, Taylor. Referee: Kevin Clancy. Attendance: 16,348.