Fail Fail the Dons are here

Ever look forward to something all week and then it comes and you are left disappointed?
If you are a Dons fan then the answer is probably yes.

After the good showing at Parkhead last week, I had been looking forward to today's game. I really thought if we continued from where we left off last weekend we could give this a real good go.
Today is my birthday and the one gift I wanted was the Dons to win a place in the cup final.

Neil Lennon had done his homework, he knew we would start nervous and had obviously seen the errors made against Inverness in midweek, errors you get away with against the lesser teams but not against Celtic or Rangers.

Celtic came right at us, at this point my computer decided to restart itself after doing an update and by the time I got back online we were 2-0 down.
The final straw was the 3rd goal and I left the room shaved and went outside to snow blow the driveway.
I have not stopped watching or listening to a Dons game for a long time but could not bare this, not on my birthday.

When I returned from the welcome break outside in below freezing temperatures it was 4-0 and the halftime break was almost done.

I braved the second half and saw Scott Vernon's consolation goal, which did not even lift my spirits. The damage was done and there was no way back.
We seemed to play better in the second half but I think that was more down to Celtic taking their foot off the gas rather than Aberdeen's performance.

I felt gutted at the end, not because we lost but because of the way we lost.
I really feel for the near 14,000 fans who made the trip to the national stadium.
And to have lost so early, we did not really get a chance to enjoy the occasion, the game was dead before most fans had even settled into their seats.

I think Craig Brown made a mistake with the starting formation, and I think from what I have seen from Craig he will be the first to admit that, but he was also let down by his players.

All we can do is get back on the horse and start again, and hope that the team can take something from their next game against ......Celtic, hang on didn't we just play them like twice???
Some times the fixture list is so cruel.


Stand Free

Inverness Ry-Jacked

Aberdeen headed to Inverness hoping to build on a good second half performance at Celtic Park.
The cause was helped when Grant Munro was red carded after only 18 minutes for an off the ball incident involving Chris Maguire, the Inverness man appeared to hit Maguire with an elbow or fist.

Aberdeen were then in control and it was only a matter of time before they took the lead. Eventually the goal came just minutes before half time, Ryan Jack hit a stunner from 20 yards, it was Jacks first goal for the Dons first team, I said said a couple of games ago Jack gets better and better each game and that it was only a matter of time before one of his long range shots flew into the net.

Aberdeen killed the game off just after the break when Nick Blackman also got his first Aberdeen goal.

I thought Blackman was disappointing against Celtic at the weekend but Craig Brown admitted fault when he said Nick was not really fit and should not have played.

This was a massive win for us keeping the confidence up after the weekend.
Now we can go to Hampden on Saturday with no fear.
If we play at our best than just maybe we will be heading to Hampden again in March for the Cup Final.

Stand Free

Night and Day

No you have not logged onto imdb.com by mistake, this is not a blog about the Tom Crusie and Cameron Diaz movie.
The title describes the difference between the Aberdeen attitude today against Celtic and the disastrous game back in November that all but ended Mark Mcghee's spell as Aberdeen Manager.

Aberdeen looked to have more belief in themselves, they fought for every ball and although they lost a goal to poor defending, most times in the game the defence coped with everything Celtic threw at them.
I was pleased that Langfield did not pull Stokes down as he went round him, there is more chance of coming back from 1-0 down with 11 men on the field.

Aberdeen did have a few chances and on another day one of those might have gone in.
It was a brave move by Craig Brown to take off a defender and bring on a striker with about five minutes left.
Not only did it give us a chance to steal a point at the end it showed Celtic that we are not afraid to have a go.
Maybe showing some intention of our plan for the cup game next week against Celtic at Hampden.

I said before the game that I would be happy if Aberdeen produced a professional performance and could walk away with heads held high even in defeat. And that is exactly what we got today.

We can now go into the next encounter with a little more confidence, and hopefully can give us a cup final to look forward too.


Standfree 

Vernon is Double Trouble for St Mirren

It seems so long ago that Aberdeen were sitting top of the SPL after the first two game of the season.
Since that first game against Hamilton till his last game in charge against Kilmarnock, Mark Mchgee only managed to get ten league points on the board.
With wins against Hibs, Hamilton and now St Mirren, and also the New Years Day draw against Dundee United, Craig Brown has now equaled that tally. That in itself is a remarkable turn around.

To be fair we have not played any of the top teams yet, we have beaten the teams who were on or around the same points as we were, these are the teams we have to beat, the upcoming three games in ten days  against Celtic will show us how far we have come.

We may not win any of the games against Celtic, but improved performances and a more respectable result will show us where we stand.

Some of the games have not been pretty in fact they have been scrappy, but in our situation fancy football does not always win games, fighting for every ball and scraping wins is what is needed. Craig Brown, as many said when he first arrived, has made us hard to beat.

There seems to be a buzz around Pittodrie again, Scott Vernon is scoring for fun, Chris Maguire is enjoying his football again and the players seem to be creating a bond amongst themselves, from helping each other out when under pressure to celebrating goals as a team, in one game recently Jamie Langfield ran the entire length of the pitch to join in with the after goal celebrations.

Ryan Jack played well again today and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet, he seems to get better with every game he plays, although he did not score today Chris Maguire played a fantastic game setting up both Scott Vernons goals.

Robert Milsom made his Debut today and looked solid, he seems to like taking shots from long range and it is only a matter of time before they start flying in.

I also look forward to seeing Blackman our other new signing this week, the paperwork is all done but he has been ill and has not joined up with his new team mates yet.

St Mirren had a few chances but did not take them and Aberdeen got a deserved three points.
Aberdeen were missing Sone Aluko and Captain Paul Hartley today, which is always a worry when these players are missing, but the rest of the team did well in their absence today.

Ten Points and still unbeaten in 2011, if someone had told me that would be our situation in Mid January a couple of months ago I would have been calling the funny farm to book a room for them.


Stand Free

Aberdeen hit East Fife for Six

I had to cringe today when I saw a quote from Craig Brown saying Aberdeen would not lose to a lower league team in the cup while he was manager.
Not that I don't have faith in Craig Brown but we have heard this so often in the past and then we get beat.

Normally this type of game is the type of game that  Aberdeen struggle in and sneak a 1-0 win and have the fans biting their nails for 90 minutes.

Brown stuck to his word and  we came out fighting for every ball. All credit to East Fife they battled also and had a few chances. But a Chris Maguire first half hat-trick with Scott Vernon also getting in on the action,  killed the game off before half time.
East Fife still tried to play football after the break when many teams would have had eleven  men on the goal line.

I was very pleased to see Bebo (Maguire) getting a had trick. He is showing the form we have seen from him while playing for the Scottish u21 team.
Just goes to show what happens when you have a manager that knows what he is doing running the show.

Aberdeen did not look troubled, any chances East Fife created was dealt with by Jamie Langfield and the Aberdeen defence.

I know that it is only East Fife who play in the 2ND Division but this was more about building on the confidence that we have been slowly getting back in recent weeks.
Vernon and Maguire especially will be biting at the bit for the next game so they can add to the goal tallies for the season.

Special Mention for Ryan Jack also who as Red TV said on another day would have won the MOTM
but that accolade went to Chris Maguire for his three goals.
Scott Vernon also had a good shift and was close to getting a hat-trick for himself but just could not find that 3rd goal.

I was also delighted for Josh Magennis who scored his first competitive goal for the club with the last kick of the ball. Josh has done well in recent weeks and could have had a few but for lack of confidence. Hopefully this will boost that confidence and he will become a regular on the score sheet.

Roll on Tuesday when we find out who we will face in the next round of the Cup.

I would also like to congratulate our Aberdeenshire Neighbours Peterhead for getting a great result away from home against SPL side St Mirren with a 0-0 draw to take the tie to a replay.

Stand Free

United break Dons hearts (and an ankle)

I said before the game I would take a draw against United at Pittodrie today, but this draw feels like a defeat.

Aberdeen had controlled the game for almost the whole 90 minutes and had not really looked like conceding.
Chris Maguire picked up the man of the match award and rightly so, he was involved in almost every attacking move Aberdeen made.
He got his goal but unfortunately Aberdeen could not add to it.

The turning point of the game was when Yoann Folly went down injured with a suspected broken ankle.
Treatment continued for several minutes and eventually folly left the pitch on a stretcher.
Not only had we lost one of our best performers this season but it would have an effect later on in the game.

As I said before Aberdeen controlled the game and never looked in danger but when the fourth official held up the board indicating 6 minutes of injury time, United seemed to get a lift.

I could just tell it was coming as United kept coming at us. I kept thinking surely this can't happen, they have hardly been in the game, when bang in the 95th minute of the game David Goodwillie took a half chance and levelled the game.
It was sicking and almost felt like defeat.

Saying that Aberdeen were much improved  from the last game at Pittodrie, and for a team who had not won in so long to now have 7 out of 9 points from the last 4 game the turn around is unbelievable.
I just hope that the team won't let that late goal dent their confidence.

Next up is East Fife in the Scottish Cup so hopefully we can get a few goals and continue to build confidence.


Stand Free