Whenever a new manager arrives at a club he looks for areas in which he can immediately stamp his imprint on the team and one of the quickest and most visible is that of the set-piece.
So Graham Alexander might have some explaining to do after seeing a Motherwell side which generally dominates the Dons at the dead ball – none more so than on their last trip to Aberdeen in September – defeated after allowing all three of the Reds’ defenders to put the ball in the net off set-plays.
Alexander may have proved that he does indeed have Scottish blood in his veins by braving Pittodrie jacketless in January, but his adaptation to Aberdeen’s conditions was clearly quicker than it was to their corners. In that tactical battle, he was comprehensively outmanoeuvred by the observant Derek McInnes.
Having noted that the visitors were setting up to defend flag-kicks in a rigid W-shape, with two players on the posts and three studding the six-yard line, McInnes calculated that they would not have enough of their 10 men spare to rush short corners. He exploited the tactic mercilessly.
Surging incursions from the byline created chaos in Motherwell’s ranks and left first an unluckily penalised Ash Taylor, then an uncovered Andy Considine, to beat the outstanding Liam Kelly and strategically secure a comfortable win with few alarms.
Much which went Aberdeen’s way could have been different – chiefly Polworth’s puzzling ejection and Funso Ojo’s vigorous penalty-box shot block featuring somewhat more hand than the current laws permit – but when the scales tipped in their favour, they were sure to press their thumbs down hard.