Derek McInnes has hailed the resilience of injury-ravaged Aberdeen after they ‘fought fire with fire’ to defeat Livingston 2-0 in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
The Dons travelled to West Lothian without Scott McKenna, Ash Taylor, Funso Ojo, Craig Bryson and Stephen Gleeson, while Sam Cosgrove was only deemed fit enough for a place on the bench due to a slight groin strain.
The visitors rode their luck at times as Livi impressed, with Chris Erskine, Scott Robinson and Jon Guthrie all missing gilt-edged opportunities.
McInnes’ men were clinical by comparison, finding the net through Andrew Considine and Cosgrove – on as a second-half substitute – to claim a crucial three points and move into third place.
“We knew what to expect and we fought fire with fire,” said McInnes.
“The narrative before the game was all about injuries and how we lack experience and certain types in some positions.
“We had to stand up to that and play a specific type of game to keep the threat away from us. It says a lot about our resilience.
“The pitch was particularly awful today and at times you play percentages and fight your corner. It’s not how I want my team to play. But I want my team to win.”
He continued: “The pleasure comes from winning, it doesn’t come from watching it – because there wasn’t a lot of pleasure in that.
“But I do take pleasure in watching my team doing what needed to be done despite the injuries we have.”
Livingston boss Gary Holt, meanwhile, was left to rue his team’s failing in both boxes, insisting his attackers were not clinical enough when presented with golden opportunities and noting that Aberdeen were defensively superior.
For a second successive week – having lost 3-1 at Ibrox last week – Livi will gain plenty of plaudits but no points against one of the league’s big guns.
He said: “It’s been a theme of the last two weeks. We were excellent, had a right good go – but we’ve lost and I have to be critical.
“I have to point things out to the players. They took responsibility by defending their box.
“And, although we had great chances, we haven’t scored and they have. Did we really believe we’d take one of our chances? We have to learn from it.
“It’s really annoying. The players are p***** off, they’re hurt.”
