Aberdeen badly missed the leadership qualities of Scott Brown in their defeat against Hibs.
The Dons’ three-game winning run ended at Easter Road in disappointing fashion.
Captain Brown and defender Ross McCrorie were both absent and as a result the Reds looked disjointed.
Brown’s leadership skills were missed – particularly after Aberdeen fell behind.
I felt there was a lack of urgency about the Dons’ play in the final 25 minutes when they could still have got something from the game.
Even in the closing stages manager Stephen Glass was calling for the players to get the ball forward quickly and it still wasn’t happening.
This is where Brown’s absence was keenly felt because he drives the team on from the middle of the park.
Even if he’s not having his best game individually he still communicates and encourages others and he leads by example in the way that he plays.
Without his presence, especially once they were behind, Aberdeen weren’t the same team.
In the first half although the Dons didn’t create a lot of chances I thought they did well.
Dean Campbell and Lewis Ferguson both went close, but there wasn’t a great deal of penetration.
But in the second half Aberdeen never really got going or established any control in the game.
Hibs didn’t play particularly well either, but it was frustrating Aberdeen couldn’t put them under more pressure.
Especially when morale in the Leith ranks couldn’t have been particularly high following defeat in the League Cup final on Sunday.
Calvin Ramsay made his comeback from injury and although it was good to see him back he didn’t look his usual self.
However, that’s perhaps to be expected when the full-back has spent two months on the sidelines.
Needless concession proved costly
What was really disappointing was the goal that the Reds lost.
It came from Declan Gallagher overplaying at the back and eventually being forced to concede a corner after being put under pressure.
Then from the resultant delivery Gallagher was outjumped by Ryan Porteous.
I know the Dons want to try to play out from the back and be expansive, but sometimes it isn’t on to do that.
And the goal at Easter Road showed what can happen if you get it wrong trying to play from the back.
In a scrappy game where it comes down to tight margins losing a goal from a set piece – which shouldn’t have given away in the first place – is particularly frustrating.
During the winning run against Livingston, St Mirren and St Johnstone the Reds played at a good tempo with plenty of energy and got their rewards.
But they couldn’t hit the same heights against Hibs.
Ultimately if you want to qualify for Europe you have to be able to perform on a consistent basis and they need to respond against Dundee on Boxing Day.
Premiership right to shut down early
The decision to bring forward the Premiership’s winter break is a sensible one – but it’s frustrating it has come to this.
From Boxing Day crowds in stadium are to be capped at 500 for a period of at least three weeks as part of the Scottish Government’s plan to deal with the omicron variant.
As a result the Premiership’s winter break, which had been due to kick in after the games on January 2 and 3, will now start following Sunday’s fixtures.
It makes sense for the top flight clubs to stop when they can’t get large numbers of supporters into stadiums.
But what frustrates me – and I’m sure will frustrate fans – is that we haven’t been presented with any evidence that people going to watch football leads to an increase in Covid-19 cases.
There were no limits on crowds for Wednesday’s games so if it’s safe for people to attend on Wednesday why is it not safe on Sunday? It’s little wonder clubs and fans alike are disappointed.
The lower leagues have opted to carry on, but these restrictions will impact them as well.
Hopefully once the three weeks are up supporters will be able to return to stadiums in greater numbers.
Merry Christmas from me
I would like to take this opportunity to wish readers a Merry Christmas.
It’s a pleasure and a privilege to write these columns and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them over the last 12 months.
It’s been another difficult year for us all, but I hope you are able to enjoy the festive period as best you can.
Hopefully in the near future we’ll be able to return to more normality again.
Christmas is a time of hope and goodwill and better times are on the horizon.