Aberdeen could not have got off to a worse start than losing such a bad goal at Celtic Park within the first three minutes on Sunday.
However, all credit to them, because they recovered from that early set-back, although they left with a 2-0 opening day defeat in the Premiership.
People were saying Celtic had all of the ball – but you go back the last 30 games of Aberdeen playing at Parkhead and they would never have more possession than Celtic.
All you want to do is try and restrict the number of chances Celtic have and I thought Aberdeen were resolute.
Anthony Stewart in the middle of defence was terrific and the Dons soaked up a lot of pressure.
The floodgates could easily have opened. Trust me, teams will lose an early goal down there and the floodgates WILL open.
Jim Goodwin will be reasonably happy by how they stuck to their guns.
They also carved open a few chances, such as the one for Jonny Hayes.
I know Celtic also had other opportunities, but going in just one down at half-time, and losing 2-0 overall, there will be many aspects that will still please them, after such a poor start.
It was especially pleasing how the team lifted their heads and said: ‘we’re not going to get a doing here’.
Jim Goodwin has brought in nine players and let 15 go, so there has been a big transition this summer.
They will need time to gel and get going – and kicking off at Parkhead when they’ve just unfurled the champions’ flag was the toughest possible start.
This was a new experience for so many of these players and they will learn and be stronger players after facing 60,000 fans and taking on the champions.
Aberdeen now have to hit the ground running, starting at home against St Mirren on Saturday. Three of their next four league games are at Pittodrie and they have to make it count.
They need to get their form going in front of their own fans and give them something to shout about.
That will show that these boys are heading in the right direction.
Unlike Sunday, Aberdeen should be the team with the bulk of the possession against St Mirren and they can create chances for Bojan Miovski up front, who looks a real handful.
I was also impressed with Matty Kennedy on the right-hand side, who demonstrated his usual excellent work-rate and looked dangerous going forward.
Jim will be happy to get that game out of the way and will be boosted by defender Liam Scales coming back. He’s on loan from Celtic and was not able to play against them.
The manager has built a good squad there and he has players who can come on and change things.
All eyes on the first home league game of the season, where they will hopefully get the fans off their seats.
County’s White will fancy go at Celtic
Ross County can also take the positives from their opening day 2-1 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle – which is another really tough away fixture in the Premiership.
Manager Malky Mackay seemed encouraged by their performance and, on another day, they could easily have taken something from Edinburgh.
Malky also has seven players making their debuts who, like the new Aberdeen players at Parkhead, won’t have experienced an atmosphere like Tynecastle. That can be pretty hot when the Hearts fans get right on top of you.
I remember when I played at Swindon Town, we had a Scottish coach called John Gorman, who worked with Glenn Hoddle and was his assistant with the England national team.
I recall he said you know you’re doing something right when your opponents need to change their shape and Hearts had to do that – County were causing them real problems.
Malky might be right when he says survival is still in main aim this season, but trust me he will be wanting a second successive top-six finish in the Premiership.
They have another strong, attacking line-up, and Owura Edwards had a great effort hit the woodwork – he looks fantastic.
County have Celtic at home on Saturday and I’ll be at that one.
These are always good games and don’t be surprised if big County striker Jordan White goes up front. He caused the Old Firm all sorts of problems last year and it was a fantastic finish from him to make it 2-1 at Tynecastle.
Overall, despite the result, it was a good start from Ross County and there is a lot for Malky to be pleased with.
Queen Park’s make instant impact
I thought Caley Thistle’s 1-1 draw with Queen’s Park on Saturday was a terrific opening match in the Championship.
I was there and it was no surprise to see a side managed by Owen Coyle pass it about like they did. Every one of the Queen’s Park players who got on the ball turned and moved with it against their Inverness counterparts.
Caley Thistle boss Billy Dodds called it right when he said a draw was a fair result as both teams had chances to win it.
Queen’s look like a team excited to be in the Championship after their promotion via the play-offs in May.
They seemed to enjoy playing on the bowling-green-quality pitch at the Caledonian Stadium with a decent atmosphere. They will be delighted to take a point from that one.
Billy Mckay took his goal well to draw level second in the club’s all-time scoring chart with first-team coach Barry Wilson on 83 goals (with Dennis Wyness leading the way on 101).
Inverness have recruited well this summer and have a second-round Premier Sports Cup tie at Motherwell to look forward to at the end of the month after winning their group.
They’ll travel with confidence to Arbroath this weekend, having not lost a goal there last season. They will want to keep that going.
Their campaign got up and running at Gayfield last year with a 1-0 win, so hopefully they can do the same again and get their first victory on the board.
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