Aberdeen 2 Dundee United 2: Positivity is second nature to Brown despite Langfield error

Thursday 3 January 2013

HE might privately consider this game to be an opportunity missed, but Craig Brown was in no mood to wallow on the negatives last night, instead reacting to a disappointing home draw with a bombastic declaration of intent ahead of the second half of the season.

Aberdeen's Scott Vernon, centre, opens the scoring at Pittodrie

Custom byline text:

Frank Gilfeather

Despite this draw meaning Aberdeen are in fifth place in the division, the manager was insistent that second place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League remains his target.

Victory against a Dundee United side whose recent form has been wretched would have left the Pittodrie side well placed to achieve such a goal but Brown refused to deviate from his belief. "Nobody will catch Celtic," he said. "But we are looking for a good finish in the SPL and a run in the cup.

"Every team outwith Celtic is looking at second place. Even Hearts and Dundee United, who are behind us, are looking at second. It's so compact that I've repeatedly said that if we got to the new year in contention and get players back, I'd be very optimistic about our second half of the season."Brown, however, would not have considered vagaries such as the error by goalkeeper Jamie Langfield that allowed United to forge a 2-1 interval advantage yesterday. Stooping at his near post to gather a teasing Johnny Russell cross, the presence of Willo Flood seemed to discomfit the goalkeeper, who fumbled the ball between his legs and over the line."It was a goalkeeping error," said Brown, adding he had not probed Langfield about the incident. "I don't criticise individuals. Up at the other end Niall McGinn missed a chance that was crucial and Ryan Fraser could have headed in the rebound. So if we are going to make complaints about the defenders then we must make complaints against the forwards, too."To do so would be harsh, given the efforts of Russell and Niall McGinn, both of whom were asked to plough a lone furrow in attack. In the case of the United player, he was without the support of Jon Daly, who was instead accommodated in a defensive role in an unfamiliar visitors' side that also comprised Sean Dillon in midfield and John Souttar, a 16-year-old making his debut at right-back.Such restructuring was intended to bolster United's leaky defence but protection was absent in the 11th minute as Fraser gathered Cammy Smith's fine pass and burrowed towards the bye-line before feeding the ball back for Scott Vernon to side-foot past United keeper Radoslaw Cierzniak.McGinn's solo run four minutes later was equally impressive. He evaded three defenders as he took the ball from one side of the area to the other before his stinging shot was touched on to the bar by Cierzniak. United, though, rode out the storm and were able to restore parity after 20 minutes. Barry Douglas' free kick from the left was not dealt with properly and, after Daly's effort was blocked, Gavin Gunning flung himself at the loose ball to force it over the line.United should have added to that goal soon afterwards. Flood presented Russell with an opportunity eight yards out but the ball reared up off the surface and the striker lashed his shot high over. The visitors would not be denied, though, and went in at the interval leading, thanks to Langfield's error.Peter Houston's side started the second half in a similar manner and almost forced another own goal when Joe Shaughnessy slashed John Rankin's cross against his own crossbar, but Aberdeen were soon roused again and it was no surprise that McGinn was the man who did so. The award of the free-kick for Daly's challenge on the striker might have been soft but the finish, arcing round the wall away from Cierzniak was delightful. It was the Northern Irishman's 14th SPL goal of the season and sent the home side on a determined, if unsuccessful, course to find a winner."I don't know how the referee managed to reach the decision that Daly committed a foul," Houston commented. "He simply stood his ground. Still, we did well, particularly as we had John Souttar, at 16 years old the youngest player to play in the United first team, making his debut at right-back."

Contextual targeting label:

Sport

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Aberdeen 2 Dundee United 2: Positivity is second nature to Brown despite Langfield error

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED