Minutes following a sweetly struck Steven Lawless effort, the showers began adding to the ever increasing unlikelihood of being able to play any kind of swift counter-attacking football on a patchy Firhill surface. The situation looked bleak, if not dire, and as the clock approached the seventy minute mark, Aberdeen supporters could be forgiven for thinking that our title hopes were growing ever slimmer.
It seemed inconceivable at that moment that approximately 110 minutes of football later, Aberdeen would still find themselves perched within a point of Celtic having taken the maximum amount of points from our games against Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock. Neither game was particularly enjoyable nor played host to a great deal of attractive football but a resilience was certainly displayed from Aberdeen as well as a desire to emerge top in well-contested occasions. There were plenty of positives to be taken from the occasions and perhaps some concerns so we decided to consider five things we learned from the two encounters.
Barry Robson still has a part to play:
There was something poetic about the brief incident against Kilmarnock in which a 37 year old Barry Robson dinked the ball through 19 year old Greg Kiltie’s legs during the match at Pittodrie. It was a moment that epitomised the composure Robson has added to the team in these last two outings. The experienced midfielder’s role is not limited to that, however, given that it would not be unfair to say that he was solely responsible for a remarkable turnaround against Partick Thistle.
I will be the first to admit that when Robson had been stripped and readied to come on in the 66th minute, I greeted the decision with a sigh and the question, “Is this really all we’ve got?” Perhaps I should have remembered that Barry Robson is no stranger to winning football matches and plenty of important ones at that.
Robson took to the field with a willingness and a desire to get involved, a refusal to shirk out of challenges and a confidence that proceedings would be turned completely on their head. Added to that Robson proved that while with age attributes such as pace and stamina may gradually deteriorate, the technical ability to execute a set-piece with pinpoint accuracy and the leadership qualities required in encouraging and motivating teammates do not.
The Inverurie-born player, while involved in the build-up to the equaliser, was instrumental in the second as he delivered a fizzing cross on to the head of Simon Church. All Church had to do was direct the pace of the ball on target to put the Dons in front.
For sixty minutes against Kilmarnock, Robson represented a calm figure in the middle of the pitch, guiding and instructing those around him and passing the ball with intelligence. The evidence of these two matches suggests that in a team challenging at the right end of the table, Barry Robson still has a significant part to play.
Overlapping fullbacks are key:
In modern football it is fast becoming clear that fullbacks have both a responsibility to defend and attack. Derek McInnes has shown that he is an advocate of overlapping fullbacks in the development of Andy Considine’s game in recent seasons, simultaneously with the recruitment of the likes of Shay Logan and Graeme Shinnie.
By pushing on after releasing the ball, our fullbacks have shown time and time again how they can stretch the opposition and enforce a dilemma of stick or twist for opposing players. In addition to that, they themselves are contributing with assists and often goals as well. This notion was demonstrated perfectly in the winning goal against Kilmarnock. With the encounter in uncertain territory at 1-1, Aberdeen continued to commit Shinnie and Logan into overlapping positions.
As the game wore on, we remained patient in our build-up and our tactics managed to take advantage of a slip in Kilmarnock’s concentration. The play was switched from side to side stretching Kilmarnock’s resolve, Kenny McLean fed Jonny Hayes and the winger driving to the byline managed to cross into the proverbial ‘corridor of uncertainty’. Shay Logan had committed his run, cutting in front of his marker and nodding home from close range in the six yard box.
McInnes cited his joy at seeing Logan complete that particular run, cementing the likelihood that this aspect of tactical play will be common on the training ground and justifiably so as it is proving to be a successful method of attacking.
The defence is still an issue:
Whether it be the torrid time both David Amoo and Josh Magennis seemed to inflict on Andy Considine or the occasions in which Ash Taylor seemed to hold on to the ball for too long, it is evident that our defence still seems to be a potentially fragile area of the side.
McInnes seemed to identify the need for change in this area of the team as he prepared the squad for Kilmarnock but one can’t help but think that while he identified the correct problem, the solution wasn’t the right one. As aforementioned, Considine (despite scoring) and Taylor both seemed temperamental in their performances against Thistle, therefore to omit Reynolds from the team against Kilmarnock and start with the centre-back pairing of Considine and Taylor seemed a potentially flawed decision.
Perhaps this notion is best identified in the events of Kilmarnock’s equaliser. As the cross was looped in there appeared to be miscommunication between Logan and Brown, while Taylor allowed Magennis space to finish Rory McKenzie’s knock back uncontested. Meanwhile it could be argued that the position Considine had adopted meant that he was unable to intervene.
It’s clear that Aberdeen’s defensive shape and discipline is still lacking at times but our strongest back four seems to be found in the instances when we can deploy our natural fullbacks with a centre back pairing of Reynolds and an Ash Taylor that concentrates on the basics.
Parallels can be drawn between Church and Rooney:
The Aberdeen support winced when they first heard the news that Adam Rooney would be ruled out for up to six weeks with a thigh strain but on loan striker Simon Church has stepped in comfortably to fill the void. A return of four goals in six outings so far is an impressive one for the Wales international but perhaps what has been more surprising is the similarities in Church’s style to that of Rooney’s play.
Initially I think most of the Aberdeen faithful had expected Church to be somewhat of an off the ball runner and an individual who could drop deep and carry the ball but would likely not contribute many goals to the team. On the contrary, however, it seems that Church enjoys drifting into danger areas and thrives off of good supply from our midfield and fullbacks. As a result of this, Church can seem quiet for large periods of the game before appearing at pivotal moments to net, as was revealed against Partick Thistle.
Another impressive aspect of the striker’s game is his relatively strong hold up play. Adept in bringing the ball down with his chest, Church is also capable of bringing others into play with deft touches and decent close control. It is fair to say that Church has led the line well in Rooney’s absence and may well be worth bringing to the club on a permanent basis.
The importance of staying with the team:
Shay Logan, among others, recently acknowledged the importance of the support in achieving three points, stating, “The fans will have a big part to play.”
The fullback went on to acknowledge, as McInnes has previously, that there are periods of games when the tide may not be in our favour but patience and perseverance are key, “It is understandable when they get frustrated, for example when Partick went in front the other night. I would just ask that they are patient with the team during the game. The manager and the players know what is at stake and what is required and it is a 90 minute game. In each game there will be points when we are not on top but a game lasts for 90 plus minutes. Please just stick with us and we will see where we land up.”
In both of our last two matches when proceedings have not been going our way, there has been an anxiety in sections of the support to be more direct and move the ball up the field quicker. While that is understandable, the team has demonstrated the benefits of maintaining possession and constructing an attack with patience. Simply put, if we are in control of possession then the opposition is not.
Both goals against Partick Thistle were eventual consequences of patient periods of football; one and two touch passing between midfield and defence before exploiting space in the channels to either get a cross into the box or win a set piece.
The winning goal against Kilmarnock was of an ilk that epitomised the essentiality of Aberdeen being a patient footballing side. The ball was worked into an area that freed Jonny Hayes to drive to the line and put the ball into a dangerous area but before the attack could get to that stage in the build-up, several short passes and seemingly unnecessary one-twos proved crucial.
For that reason, it is important that we trust the manager and the team to do their job.
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