Aberdeen supporters have witnessed more than their fair share of defensive disasterclasses over the years. This was right up there with the worst of them.
To call it schoolboy stuff would be an insult to young lads across the country. Honestly, it was that bad.
Stephen Robinson has built a reputation on making his teams hard to beat. It’s what served him so well at St Mirren, and what primarily attracted the Dons hierarchy to bring him up to the Granite City midway through last season.
The signs coming in to this one were encouraging. Four wins from four in the Premier Sports Cup group stage was backed up by a dramatic win over Hearts to kick off the new league campaign last weekend.
Yes, it’s not been particularly easy on the eye, but at this stage of the Robinson revolution, results trump performance. He got neither here.
They were all over the shop from start to finish. In truth, 2-0 defeat flattered them. Dundee, on the other hand, were terrific.
Joe Westley (centre) celebrates his goal in Dundee’s convincing 2-0 win over Aberdeen
Dons boss Stephen Robinson tried to urge his side on but they struggled badly at Dens Park
Manager Steven Pressley has copped a bit of flak this week for his insistence on playing down expectations this season. But he must be absolutely delighted with the start his side have made. They went toe to toe with Celtic on Monday night but came away with nothing. They never looked like picking up anything less than three points on their home league bow.
It’s been a summer of upheaval at Dens Park, with the core of the squad being ripped out. Replacing the likes of Luke Graham, Billy Koumetio and Cam Congreve is no easy task, but Pressley has earned the right to have a go at it after successfully winning over a dubious Dundee support last year.
The fact that his side have looked so impressive early on suggests the club should be aiming for a tilt at the top six — even if their gaffer isn’t quite willing to make such bold assertions.
There’s enough quality to do so, on this evidence. Ryan Astley didn’t give Kevin Nisbet a sniff, while Ethan Hamilton and new boy Ryan Finnigan strolled it in midfield. And Joe Bevan was simply unplayable on the right. The former Burnley man had poor old Nesta Guinness-Walker falling over himself all afternoon.
Every time he got the ball — which was seemingly every 60 seconds — he looked to make something happen. A proper ‘gets bums off seats’ kind of player. If he keeps this up, Pressley may have a battle on his hands to keep him around.
It took just seven minutes for Bevan to give Aberdeen the spooks. Dan Happe inexplicably conceded possession to the 22-year old on the edge of his own box, but the winger dragged his strike wide of target.
Aberdeen didn’t bother to heed the warning and fell behind 90 seconds later.
Bevan was given acres of room by Nesta Guinness-Walker to cut inside from the right and pick out Joe Westley in the middle, who expertly prodded home on the volley.
Westley’s movement to steal a yard was razor sharp, but the marking from Aberdeen was non-existent.
Bevan came close to doubling Dundee’s advantage almost straight from the restart, but fired high and wide from the angle of the box after evading the challenge of Guinness-Walker for the umpteenth time.
The hosts should have been two down on 20 minutes. With the Dons defence standing around counting clouds 18 yards from their own goal, Westley gratefully nicked in but couldn’t beat Marius Muller.
Dundee’s Ryan Astley and Aberdeen’s Ayoub Mouloua battle for possession
Dundee player Joe Bevan flashes a shot wid eof goal in a contest that Dundee dominated
The Dons back four were all over the shop but they weren’t helped in the least by those in front of them. Alexander Briedl and Afeez Aremu looked like they didn’t know what they were doing in the middle of the park, leaving yards of room in behind for Dundee to exploit time and time again.
Tony Yogane — on his return to his former club — was even worse. At no point in the first half did he attempt to offer any sort of support to Guinness-Walker. Anyone can have an off day, but a lack of effort was the issue here. It was no surprise to see him hooked at the break. In truth, he was fortunate to last that long.
Aberdeen did finally show signs of life with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Dan Happe rising high at the back post to get a head on Stuart Armstrong’s corner.
Owen Goodman tipped the effort on to the bar, and Hamilton was in the right spot to hook it clear from close range.
At the other end, Bevan — surprise, surprise — showed Guinness-Walker a clean pair of heels before bearing down on goal. His low strike with the outside of his left boot failed to test Muller.
Robinson’s fury was crystal clear. And his afternoon went from bad to worse by picking up a booking for his reaction to a caution handed out to Lewis Mayo.
He would have been slightly encouraged by the way his side began the second period. Yet, with momentum appearing to be swinging in their favour, they shot themselves in the foot.
A hopeful ball in from Charlie Reilly on the left somehow made its way all the way to Bevan on the far side of the box and he rifled in to the top corner.
Toyosi Olusanya got a rare bit of joy against Drey Wright shortly after, getting to the byeline before cutting back for the onrushing Chris Cadden, whose strike on the slide cannoned back off the upright.
Dons sub Jack Milne then let a long ball drop over his head, with Ashley Hay getting it under control and bringing out a fine stop from Muller.
Owen Goodman had to be alert to keep out Happe with an outstretched boot from the big defender’s downward header as Aberdeen searched for a way back in to the game to no avail.
Moroccan striker Ayoub Mouloua — introduced at half-time — at least showed a willingness to put himself about a bit and try to make something happen, and there was also a bit of history made as 15-year-old Andrew Fasanya became the Dons’ youngest-ever player to feature in the league.
Some small positives for Robinson on an otherwise miserable day, perhaps.
