Pittodrie’s quagmire, a legacy of sharing the stadium with Inverness in the first half of the season and a dousing from some snow flurries yesterday, looked like a suitable place for some trench warfare, but in the end there was not a single booking. That must disturb Gough as he looks for signs of fight, although the lenient refereeing of John Rowbotham offered a partial explanation.
Both sides came into the game on the back of horrendous runs. Livingston had taken one point and scored three goals in eight league games beforehand and Aberdeen almost aped that dire record with three goals in their previous eight games in the same competition, although they had taken two points.
Needless to say, tempers were fraying at both clubs. When Gough seemed to admit defeat in the relegation battle after last week’s loss to Dundee United, the Livingston manager found himself censured by Pearse Flynn, their prospective owner. The Irish millionaire felt that surrender was somewhat premature and would be reflected in decreased attendances and commercial revenue. Despite some midweek conciliation and backtracking by Gough, their relationship still seems as chill as the weather. “I don’t really want to talk about that,” was Gough’s terse reply when a question touched this raw nerve afterwards. “Everything is back to normal.”
Not that all was well in the home camp either. After describing the local produce in his squad as “softies”, Jimmy Calderwood got a rebuke from one of them. Scott Morrison said that the Aberdeen manager wanted a team of “hatchet men”. It was presumed that would mean the axe, permanently, for the left-back but he was recalled, with Richie Byrne dropped after an error in last week’s defeat at Dunfermline which Calderwood labelled “amateurish ”.
Calderwood was much happier after this win. “Hopefully this will kick-start our league form,” he said. The imminent return of Scott Severin will help too, although next Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Tannadice may come too early for the sturdy midfielder.
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The first-half was a question of who would have the least confidence and it quickly became apparent that the answer was Livingston. Aberdeen started briskly, although they were hampered by the marsh in the middle of the pitch and their best moves tended to come down the flanks where the going was slightly easier.Kevin McNaughton flung in an early shot which Colin Meldrum, replacing Roddy McKenzie, pouched and then Morrison had a shot cleared off the line by Burton O’ Brien. Livingston’s only semblance of a chance came when Ryan Esson came to clear a through ball that was being chased by Morrison and Derek Lilley and the ball broke to Ferenc Horvath, whose lob at the empty goal was tamely inaccurate. The Hungarian would later hit the crossbar with a spectacular overhead kick, but by then Aberdeen were home and hosed.
It did not help the visitors’ cause that they had lost Richard Brittain and Gus Bahoken to injury in the first half. It looked like they would survive it without losing a goal too but then, in stoppage time, McNaughton picked up a scrap of possession on the halfway line, drove down the right, shimmied to throw Livingston’s defenders off balance and then curled the ball home into the far corner with his left foot. It was his first goal for Aberdeen at Pittodrie and only his second for the club. Livingston also provided the opposition for his first, although it was more of a “sclaff”.
The timing of McNaughton’s strike served to accentuate Aberdeen’s confidence, while Livingston’s belief probably didn’t have anywhere to go as it already seemed rock bottom. Another Aberdeen goal arrived in the 59th minute when Darren Mackie pursued a ball down the right-hand channel with typical industry and then stood a good cross up to the back post to leave Noel Whelan with a simple headed finish for only his second of the season.
“That will be good for him,” said Calderwood. Aberdeen’s win could have been bigger had John Stewart headed home a similar chance provided by Whelan.
“Our next three league games are really important,” concluded Gough. “They are against Kilmarnock, Dundee and Motherwell and we are capable of winning them.”
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It was a soundbite that will have pleased Flynn but it did not convince anybody who watched this match.
STAR MAN: Kevin McNaughton (Aberdeen)
Player ratings: Aberdeen: Esson 6, Hart 6, Diamond 6, Anderson 6, Morrison 6 (Byrne 70min, 6), McNaughton 8, Winter 6 (Clark 70min, 6), Heikkinen 6, Stewart 6, Mackie 7, Whelan 7 (Foster 82min, 6)
Livingston: Meldrum 5, Bahoken 5 (Stanic 37min, 5), Deloumeaux 5, Strong 5, McNamee 5; Brittain 5 (Adam 21min, 5), Wilson 5, Hand 5 (McMenamin 70min, 5), O’Brien 5; Lilley 5, Horvath 5
Referee: J Rowbotham
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Attendance: 9,214