If Hibs hope to excise a genuine apology from Jim Goodwin for his opinions on Ryan Porteous, they could be in for a long wait.
The Aberdeen manager is not one to back down from a fight, even if he has doubts that he may be wrong.
On this one, he will have no such reservations.
Goodwin will have felt a very strong sense of deja vu at Easter Road on Saturday.
For it was on the same weekend last year, at the same venue, that the same player pulled exactly the same manoeuvre, with the same result, against his then St Mirren side, dressed in the same red strips.
It was prudent and shrewd of Goodwin to forewarn his new charges by showing them Porteous’ historic hoodwinking of Matthew Millar, and unfortunate that the clip was one antique of which David Dickinson was unaware.
Referee needs to appreciate what is on show
Clearly a manager cannot ask his defenders to avoid covering opponents at corners, and it is hard to do it in a way which confers immunity from Porteous’ signature move of snaking his arm behind his marker’s neck and dragging him over to make it look as he himself is being hauled down from behind.
The onus is on the referee to appreciate what he is seeing, and not be fooled into giving a penalty as cheap as chips.
Jim Goodwin gave his reaction to RedTV after today's game with Hibs. pic.twitter.com/BE2vR6t110
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) September 17, 2022
Fans of Porteous will argue that Hibs should have had a spot kick earlier, and as the rules currently stand it is true that Ross McCrorie could not have argued had his inadvertent handball been penalised.
But it was not so much for the resultant goal that the decision turned this match, rather the reduction in Aberdeen’s numbers.
If anyone should understand how much a dismissal compromises the chances of the remaining teammates, it is they.
