IN the absence of anything resembling a championship chase, the battle for the right to finish as runners-up to Celtic is expected to be one of the more intriguing tales of the season.
Here, then, were Aberdeen putting down an early marker.
The second game of any campaign is far too early to make a serious judgment call about any side - far less one as notoriously inconsistent as Aberdeen - but a first league win at Fir Park in five years, on the back of an impressive attacking performance, suggested this may finally be the year when they achieve a league position commensurate with their wage budget. A second successive victory hoisted Derek McInnes' side to second place in the SPFL Premiership, just a goal worse off than early leaders Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and prompted a late chant of "bring on the Celtic" from the boisterous travelling support ahead of Saturday's meeting of the sides, presumably partially in jest.
Their team was ultimately well worthy of their win, even if it took until the second half before their superiority finally told. Behind to a first-minute goal, and having seen two first-half shots cannon against the crossbar, Aberdeen heads could have gone down but their dogged persistence eventually paid off. Two Niall McGinn penalties bookended a Mark Reynolds header as Motherwell tired following their long midweek journey home from Europa League duty. "I have to say I think it was a good time to play Motherwell," admitted McInnes. "The last 20 minutes possibly saw their trip to Russia take its toll."
Aberdeen have become synonymous with underachievement in recent years but hope is rising in the north-east that this might finally be their time to emerge as a credible force once more. McInnes did not want to dampen the supporters' enthusiasm but knew that it would be premature to get too carried away.
"Performances like this will give the fans every encouragement but it's only two games," he added. "It's a good start and nothing more than that. We face another challenge on Saturday against Celtic but we'll be ready for it."
Motherwell had enjoyed an ideal start, scoring in the first minute, but were gradually pinned back by a vibrant Aberdeen side and then undone by three set-plays and some poor defending. Stephen McManus, in particular, endured a difficult afternoon, the former Celtic defender conceding both penalties as well as the free kick that led to Aberdeen's second. Manager Stuart McCall's disappointment was obvious but with that came a reminder that there was little need to panic at this juncture.
"Aberdeen are a good side and everyone will be full of them and that's fine," he said. "If people want to write us off that's good as I've got a good dressing room in there. We're two games into the season and we certainly won't be lying down. We'll be back."
Motherwell scored within 40 seconds but it would prove to be one of their few shots on target. John Sutton was the provider, sliding in a perfectly weighted reverse pass to Henri Anier whose finish past Jamie Langfield was composed and true. On the back of his winning goal at Easter Road the previous weekend, the on-loan Estonian is already looking a useful temporary addition to McCall's squad. Aberdeen's response was impressive and they were unlucky not to be level by half-time, both Peter Pawlett and Calvin Zola pranging the Motherwell crossbar with shots that Lee Hollis could only wave at as if trying to flag down a passing taxi. The closest Motherwell came to adding to their early strike came from an Aberdeen player, Joe Shaughnessy relieved to see his attempted clearance loop just wide of goal.
Zola had been prised away from Burton Albion in the summer with a reputation as a goalscorer but passed up two glorious opportunities early in the second half to get off the mark at Aberdeen, completely miscuing Jonny Hayes' pass, before sending a cross from the same man wide of goal from a good position. Coincidentally or otherwise, the burly striker was removed from the fray not long after.
By that point, however, Aberdeen were level. The equaliser came from the penalty spot, McGinn converting after McManus had carelessly careered into Hayes as Aberdeen started to turn the screw. With 14 minutes left they were in front. Hayes sent over a free kick from wide on the left and Reynolds, the former Motherwell player, rose highest to thud a header past Hollis. A third goal seven minutes from time settled the matter. The decision to award the penalty seemed less clear cut this time - referee John Beaton felt McManus had got too much of Shaughnessy's shirt - but the outcome was the same, McGinn putting it beyond Hollis' reach to confirm the win.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article