I was looking for Aberdeen to make a statement against St Mirren on Saturday and they duly delivered.
Their task was made easier at an early stage, after former Don Declan Gallagher was sent off just 25 minutes into his return to Pittodrie.
That gave Jim Goodwin’s men the numerical advantage and they certainly made it work.
It looked like they spread it wide and stretched the game out. I am liking the way they are setting up.
There is a lot to be pleased about, the only downside was the injury to Hayden Coulson which will hopefully not keep him out for too long.
After losing to Celtic on the opening day, the Dons were looking at three of their next four games at home.
They host Motherwell on Saturday, before making the trip to St Johnstone and finishing August with another home match against Livingston.
Aberdeen need to make the most of this run of games and they certainly showed a statement of intent against the Buddies.
Forwards making strong early mark on Dons support
Jim will have been pleased to see some of his new additions play a prominent role in the victory.
None more so than Leighton Clarkson, whose loan move from Liverpool was only finalised on the morning of the game.
He made an excellent goalscoring impression in his debut – I’m not sure we will see a better goal at Pittodrie this season.
New signing Leighton Clarkson announcing his @cinchuk SPFL arrival in style 🚀#cinchPrem | @AberdeenFC pic.twitter.com/DmA5t5eyS4
— SPFL (@spfl) August 8, 2022
Up front, Bojan Miovski is looking sharper with every passing game and his double will be a further boost for his confidence.
I liked his second goal in particular, with the way he slid in to get in front of the goalkeeper. It was a sign of his anticipation.
I always think that is really important for a striker. If you can anticipate things a few seconds before defenders or the goalkeeper, who don’t know where the ball is going to go, you will get on the end of things. He certainly knew the area he was aiming for.
Luis Lopes also came off the bench to get off the mark, which is a very good sign.
For me, it’s massive for these attackers to make a strong start to their Aberdeen careers.
They have come to a new club where they are looking to impress the fans, and scoring goals is the way to do that.
If you can hit the ground running after joining a new club, the fans will get right behind you. It buys you a bit of leeway right away when you are a goalscorer.
If they can get the ball into these areas and create chances, the early signs are that they have players who can thrive on it.
Staggies cannot be too downhearted after late Celtic show
Ross County were holding Celtic to a draw until the final stages in Dingwall, but the champions produced a late show to leave Malky Mackay’s men empty-handed.
I wouldn’t say the Staggies were unlucky as such. You couldn’t say Celtic didn’t deserve it, as they did.
County looked solid enough until the latter stages, when Celtic’s pressure paid off.
When you look at Celtic’s bench, and the changes they were able to make, it was always going to be a difficult ask.
Liel Abada was one of the replacements and there is nothing County could really do about his goal late in the game.
I’m a great believer that, even if Celtic’s attacking players are worth a lot more than County’s defenders, it’s not difficult to stop these players at times. It’s more difficult to produce that guile to try and beat somebody and score a goal.
If you have really hard-working boys in that Ross County back four they can stop Celtic, as all they are doing is getting their head through things and clearing their lines.
All the onus is on Celtic break them down, and that’s where the money comes in. It took them a wee while, maybe a bit longer than Ange Postecoglou would like, but they did in the end.
He believed in what they were doing, he wasn’t getting irate and frustrated.
County are providing an entertainment for the local area by staying in this division, and it’s fantastic to see them continually competing on this stage.
They seem to be starting similarly to how they did last year, but, truth be told, would you expect them to get something away to Hearts and at home to Celtic?
Going away to St Mirren this weekend is a winnable game for them and Malky Mackay will be looking to get the Staggies off the mark.
Inverness and Cove will be an intriguing battle
I missed the last game between Caley Thistle and Cove Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup. I’ll be interested to see how this one goes on Saturday, following their draw last month.
Inverness will be aiming to get their first league victory of the campaign after starting with two draws, particularly on their return to Caledonian Stadium.
Cove Rangers made a great start to life in the Championship against Raith Rovers, but they are looking to bounce back after going down to Morton at Cappielow at the weekend.
Caley Thistle head coach Billy Dodds and Cove boss Jim McIntyre worked together at Ross County, so it will be intriguing to see who comes out on top.
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