Aberdeen threw a slew of new strikers at their current problems. Livingston proved it does not solve them.
For all their much-hyped three arrivals on Deadline Day – Fraser Hornby, Callum Hendry and Florian Kamberi – it was Aberdeen’s defensive frailties which caught the eye in the 2-0 defeat.
Joe Lewis’ first-half gift and an unchallenged header gave Livingston the kind of platform they hardly needed on their current form. But Aberdeen afforded it to them anyway.
McInnes handed a debut to Hornby, fresh from his arrival on loan from Reims, while Hendry started the game on the bench. The third new Don Kamberi is due to arrive later in the week, following his work permit application for his move from Switzerland.
The reshuffle of Aberdeen’s forward line was the big talking point emerging from the January transfer window. The £2 million received for Sam Cosgrove was gratefully received, given his recent dip in form, while Curtis Main never set the heather alight during his 18 months in the north-east.
But the ease in which Livi scored twice before the game had even reached 20 minutes should give Derek McInnes greater cause for concern than his striking options. His team are not being cut open; gifts are being given to opponents too readily.
The tussle with Livingston on Tuesday night, three days after the two sides drew 0-0 in West Lothian, was the first chance to see Hornby in the flesh.
The pre-match expectations on him to fill the Cosgrove void were only intensified after Lewis’ early error, spilling Julien Serrano’s cross into his own net and leaving Aberdeen chasing from the game’s infancy.
Livingston were doing their best to foil the pre-match narrative around Aberdeen’s new-found firepower but the home side contributed equally to their own downfall. Again a delivery was allowed to come into the box, this time from Josh Mullin, and an unmarked Nicky Devlin headed past Lewis.
14' | ABE 0-1 LIV | #StandFree
Aberdeen are forced into an early sub after Ryan Hedges picks up an early injury:
ON ▶️ Kennedy
OFF ◀️ Hedges
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) February 2, 2021
The Dons were two down inside 16 minutes and without their most creative player, with Ryan Hedges heading down the tunnel nursing an apparent shoulder injury. McInnes and Aberdeen were already in rescue mode.
Their plight only exacerbated the desire to go back to what they knew best. Cosgrove had been pilloried of late for his goal return and rightly so, but the service to him was meagre. Being two goals behind inside 20 minutes merely prompted Aberdeen to go back-to-front as quick as possible, giving Hornby little to do but chase and challenge for the ball.
Lewis, for all his previous dependability, looked far less assured and the Dons appeared every inch a team unsure of themselves. Livingston were the total opposite, cajoled by manager David Martindale at every opportunity and zipping the ball about with the confidence which comes with a winning run.
McInnes lost Ash Taylor before the break in an another injury concern, while he also sacrificed Connor McLennan for Dean Campbell and Hendry respectively.
It prompted a return to the back three which Aberdeen have employed for most of the season and results were nearly yielded, on both occasions through Lewis Ferguson. His first, a deflected snap-shot from the edge of the area, cannoned off post and bar but stayed out, while Max Stryjek beat away the second.
But Martindale’s side never gave the Dons any encouragement a comeback was possible. They had their leverage – they would now work feverishly to defend it. Balls into the box became meat and drink for the Livingston defenders and bar the occasional flap from Stryjek, their goal was well-protected.
Had supporters been packed in at Pittodrie then you could imagine a performance like this would have generated plenty of hostility. It would not have been the first one this season to merit such treatment. Had Scott Pittman’s late shot crept inside the post rather than rebound off it, the reaction would have been justified even further.
Aberdeen have always publicly spoken about achieving their own aims, rather than issuing bullish challenges to a Celtic team enduring an era-ending wobble.
But continue to get the basics wrong and they will fall short in both of the above.