csconstantine.com

{ IT WAS just like watching Craig Brown's Motherwell last night - and that's something which will have pained the former Scotland manager as he sat in the Pittodrie dug-out and suffered at the hands of his old club in their first meeting with Aberdeen since his December switch.
The success for his opposite number Stuart McCall was as deserved as it was unexpected on the back of their 6-0 thrashing at Ibrox, although Aberdeen may point to red-card shown to captain Paul Hartley with the scores tied at 1-1 for their subsequent demise.

However, even before that player imbalance, for which Hartley should look at himself rather than the actions of the referee Steven McLean or booked opponent Keith Lasley against whom he crazily retaliated, the visitors seemed more constructive and threatening.

Their intent came good when Jamie Murphy raced forward and steered a low shot into the corner after being put in on goal by a misjudged header from Aberdeen defender Zander Diamond.

Until last night, the Fir Park faithful and their club seemed to have been badly missing Brown, as exemplified by the ragged nature of their performance against Rangers at the weekend. Last night, though, marked a pretty remarkable turnaround a mere three days on from that debacle.

Even losing a goal scored by Sone Aluko only two minutes in, McCall's men demonstrated commendable courage to open up and play passes and in so doing seize the initiative. Credit was due to their to manager for that, his selection proving surprisingly adventurous with Murphy in the hole behind a front two of John Sutton and Francis Jeffers, who scored Motherwell's equaliser. The tactics paid off with McCall picking up his second league win since succeeding Brown.

This was a fixture which should have been Brown's first in charge at Pittodrie but the winter weather put paid to that. Nevertheless, while the best part of two months have passed since then, he still found time to mention his debt of gratitude to the Fir Park club in his programme notes, where he said he was "led to believe we achieved the best record of any Motherwell management team during John Boyle's (12-year] reign, and by some distance".

Brown also made that point in pre-match briefings, no doubt to give any travelling fans who intended to taunt him for his treachery something to think about. He needn't have worried.

On a stinking, squally night, precious few travelled up and those who did were too cold, too drookit and, for the opening stages of this game, too down to give him the treatment meted out to the last manager to swap Lanarkshire for Grampian, Mark McGhee.

Agences de presses

Labels: Aberdeen, Brown, Craig, haunt, Motherwell, return, Scotsman