It may not have been as swashbuckling as the 7-2 drubbing they meted out to Motherwell last week but Derek McInnes was just as content with the three points plundered at Rugby Park yesterday as his Aberdeen side cemented their place as the best of the rest in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Two goals in the space of a couple of minutes from substitutes, Jayden Stockley and Peter Pawlett, during s frantic finale gave Aberdeen a 13th straight victory over Kilmarnock and maintained the Granite City club’s profitable run of results.
After running riot against Motherwell, this hard-earned win was more about graft than eye-catching craft. McInnes was delighted with the way his troops rolled up the sleeves and chiselled out a victory against a sturdy Kilmarnock side who had displayed plenty of the resolve but were left to rue some late defensive lapses.
“It is no coincidence that we have had a lot of late winners between the 80th and 90th minute in my years at the club,” said McInnes. “We have had it this season as well and it is part of the identity of this team. I think that indicates the fact that we have players who can change the game coming off the bench and the mind set of the substitutes when they come on.
“I also think it shows the determination of the players to keep going. The performance was in total contrast to the match against Motherwell on Wednesday night but it is still the same three points.
“It was when we brought Jayden Stockley and Peter Pawlett on that really changed the game. I don’t think we could have gone any more attacking. It was just to try and force the issue and thankfully we’ve managed to find a way to win. It’s the same three points as the other night but there’s an honesty about us that we put the game at risk today with our performance but we’ve got the win in the end.
"You always want your team to play well and show their full potential and I thought we got somewhere really close to that on Wednesday, we were absolutely brilliant
“We’re a team that’s been used to winning and I think you saw that, certainly when the equaliser went in about how it was get the ball forward again and let’s try and get the winner."
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