Goodwin accepts blame for game plan going wrong

JIM GOODWIN threw his hands up and accepted culpability for the open game plan that saw Aberdeen routed by Rangers.

Set out in an expansive 3-5-2 shape, the Dons took a first-half lead at Ibrox through midfielder Connor Barron but were quickly picked off as Antonio Colak equalised.

With striker and top scorer Bojan Miovski anonymous it was left to Portuguese front man Luis Lopes to carry the threat to Rangers — but instead it was the home team who created and scored the game’s best opportunities.

Dons legend Willie Miller was unimpressed with Aberdeen’s approach, describing their display as ‘tragic’.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: ‘It was an embarrassing day for Aberdeen. Jim Goodwin will need to go away and reflect on his tactics. They were lucky to get away with 4-1, a tragic performance, to be honest.’

With Rangers struggling for form and beaten heavily in Naples in midweek, Goodwin admitted he sensed an opportunity for his team to claim a memorable win but admitted his plan backfired.

He said: ‘I think people can see from the line-up we went with today we tried to be positive.

‘We went with our two strikers up top. They were in good form coming into the game. It was a bit adventurous.

‘I felt Rangers would be slightly fatigued after the midweek game — the travelling, the lack of training.

‘We thought long and hard about it. When I came here (to Ibrox) in March — the fixture came round soon after I took over in February —- with the existing group of players I inherited I felt the best thing to do was to be negative, sit off the game and deny Rangers space.

‘We only lost the game 1-0, and everybody is giving you a pat on the back and saying unlucky, but it wasn’t really unlucky because we didn’t offer anything to the game.

‘Today we tried to be brave, and we tried to have a go and we got our noses in front.

‘We just wanted to cause Rangers problems at the back, which I think we did at times. I thought Duk (Lopes) was our best player and he looked a real threat all afternoon.

‘We tried to be positive today. It hasn’t worked. And I deserve all the criticism that comes my way.

‘Hindsight is a great thing. I could have set up 5-4-1 and parked the bus on the 18-yard line and asked Rangers to come and break us down.

‘We’ll go over all that stuff and analyse the game in great depth tomorrow and Monday.’

Despite palpable tension in the stands, Goodwin admitted that Rangers’ response to the early Aberdeen goal was impeccable.

He said: ‘The crowd were getting nervous and anxious. You could feel that but they responded very well to that and scored a good equaliser.

‘From our point of view, we were disappointed with the shape. It was a very straightforward pass and we didn’t match the midfield run.

‘That meant Anthony Stewart needed to come over and that left (Antonio) Colak free in the middle of the penalty box. If there’s one man you don’t want to be alone in that area in current form, it’s him.’