McInnes pleased as Dons take advantage of Kilmarnock’s defensive problems

Posted Sunday, November 03, 2019 by PA

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes praised his side for taking full advantage of Kilmarnock’s defensive problems to record a victory he felt could have been even bigger.

Curtis Main found the net for the first time since his summer move from Motherwell to put Aberdeen ahead early on and his strike partner Sam Cosgrove made it 2-0 in the 27th minute.

Scott McKenna then added a late third to wrap up victory against a Kilmarnock side missing centre-backs Alex Bruce, Stuart Findlay and Dario Del Fabro.

That meant Killie captain Gary Dicker lined up at the back rather than in his usual central midfield role.

McInnes said: “To score three goals against a team like Kilmarnock who are normally very difficult to breach…They’ve got such a good thing going and it’s never easy against them.

“We go with a front two today to try to take advantage of their challenges in playing natural centre-backs. We tried to impose ourselves there and at set-plays we looked a real threat, and from open play we looked dangerous as well.

“When you go two-up front you lose a bit of control in the midfield and when we didn’t have the ball in the first half, they had far too much possession for my liking.

“I don’t think anyone could deny we were the better team today. We hit the post, should have had a penalty in the second half, and it was good to get the third goal to add a bit of polish.”

Kilmarnock have now lost successive games after winning three on the trot, but boss Angelo Alessio refused to blame their defensive issues for the defeat.

He said: “I don’t want to make excuses about the centre-backs. I expected more focus and more attention but Aberdeen are a very good team with good players and a good manager.

“We played on Wednesday against Motherwell and spent 80 minutes with 10 men. We spent a lot of energy to compete in the game and get a result. After two days we play Aberdeen without four centre-backs. It’s a big challenge.

“I expected better because we conceded easy goals, but Aberdeen played the right game.”