Jamie McGrath scores twice as Aberdeen pick up vital victory at Ross County

Posted Wednesday, January 03, 2024 by PA

Aberdeen were rarely troubled as they moved clear of the cinch Premiership relegation places with a 3-0 win at fellow strugglers Ross County.

A first-half double from Jamie McGrath was added to in the 80th minute by Bojan Miovski, who took his personal tally to 15 goals across all competitions this season.

The win lifted the Dons four points above second-bottom County.

A cagey start saw both teams trying to gain the upper hand tactically, with County’s midfield being put under plenty of pressure by the Dons’ high press.

That made it difficult for the Staggies to consistently play in the Aberdeen half, and it was the visitors who got the first goal.

Miovski recovered well after his shot was blocked by Jack Baldwin to send a cross into the middle, and in line with the back post McGrath was able to control the ball and leave Ross Laidlaw powerless to prevent it finding the bottom corner.

The same player doubled the Dons’ advantage on the hour mark, this time taking advantage of a piece of magic from Leighton Clarkson to weave past Ryan Leak and tee McGrath up for a tap-in.

County’s best chance of the first half fell for Simon Murray, who cut inside from the left channel to force Kelle Roos into a reaction save at his near post.

Aberdeen thought they had extended their lead even further shortly after the restart, only for the offside flag to go up after they had the ball in the net.

They also thought they had a claim for a penalty when back-to-back shots were blocked inside the County box, but VAR helped confirm that no spot-kick was necessary.

County struggled to land a punch on their opponents, even into the latter stages, with the Dons content to counter-attack into space when the opportunity presented itself.

One such occasion led to their third goal. Miovski ended up in a foot race with Baldwin, and got the better of the Staggies captain to squeeze a shot past Laidlaw and seal the points for Aberdeen.

There was a further late blow for Ross County, who saw Baldwin sent off for clattering into Ester Sokler when the Dons forward would have been through on goal.