Aberdeen Women co-manager Emma Hunter believes individual errors and poor game management resulted in a 4-1 away defeat against Motherwell.
The Dons left themselves with a mountain to climb in the second-half at K-Park after going down 3-0 over the first half, after goals from Motherwell’s Gill Inglis, Katie Rice and Kayla McDonald-Nguah.
Aberdeen started the second half much better than they finished the first and pulled one back through Bailley Collins in the 63rd minute, but it proved to be a consolation goal as Motherwell added another through McDonald-Nguah.
Co-manager Hunter was disappointed with the result, which leaves the Dons sitting second bottom of SWPL 1.
She said: “We’re really disappointed and frustrated at the result. The first half in particular was poor, we were just disjointed and not working as a unit.
“We tried to mix up the team to make sure that people were getting minutes and the opportunities they need to push on – so it was a young team out there.
“It was down to when we concede our heads seem to go down and we just implode a bit. We didn’t seem to have the ability to pick ourselves up again.
“So, the game management was a factor and we’ve said it was down to individual mistakes, with the same kind of errors every time we got on the ball.
“We seemed to give it away a lot and didn’t have much composure on the ball.
“It’s a really tough time for us as a club and coaches right now because things aren’t going right, so we know we’re in the storm right now.
“We just need to come together and find a way out of it.”
Motherwell race to three goal lead
Aberdeen made three changes from the win at Pittodrie as Eilidh Shore returned from suspension, while Natasha Bruce and Eirinn McCafferty both started for the first time this season.
Bayley Hutchison linked up well with Chloe Gover before bursting into the Motherwell half, but her ambitious attempt from just outside the box floated over the top of the far post.
At the other end, the home side, who were creating the better chances, hit the post after the ball bounced around the box after a throw-in, before Jess Broadrick cleared Aberdeen’s lines.
It wasn’t long until the opener as Motherwell hit the woodwork again, which saw the ball ricochet right into captain Inglis’ path and she buried the rebound beyond Annalisa McCann to make it 1-0 in the 18th minute.
The Dons found themselves 2-0 down by the 27th minute as Rice had a go from outside the box and her attempt – which looked like it was aided by a slight deflection – found its way into the bottom left corner.
Motherwell had a third just before the interval as McDonald-Nguah was given too much space to get a shot away, which she directed straight at McCann, who made a mistake and the ball rolled under her and over the line for 3-0.
Damage control or finding a way back into the game?
Aberdeen made three changes at half-time as Donna Paterson replaced McCafferty in defence, and Francesca Ogilvie and Eva Thomson came in for Bruce and Gover in the midfield.
Co-manager Hunter says that the message at half-time was not damage control – but instead urged her players to find a way back into the game.
She added: “The first message was to make sure we were doing the basics right and making sure we were better out of possession.
“We tried to fire them up and show that we were still in the game. We changed the shape to match Motherwell to get at them more – and I think we did that a lot better.
“But it was all too little too late, once we got the goal there should’ve been a bit of momentum but they go and get another one, which was frustrating.”
It was a livelier start for the Dons, compared to the last 25 minutes of the second-half, and Ogilvie almost made an instant impact as she went close with a long-range effort that hit the post.
Hutchison did well to beat Motherwell goalkeeper Emily Mutch to the ball from a pass back – the Aberdeen forward’s first touch took her to the byline and she cut it back to Thomson, who was denied by Mutch who recovered well.
The Reds got a goal back in the 63rd minute when captain Loren Campbell found Hutchison – who again beat Mutch to the ball and laid off Collins who floated it into an empty net.
But chances of a comeback didn’t last long for the Dons as McDonald-Nguah got her second of the day and Motherwell’s fourth of the afternoon just a minute later with a close-range finish.
SWF Championship and League One results
In the SWF Championship, Caley Thistle lost 3-0 at home to Ayr United, after first-half goals from Clare Docherty and Rachel Scott, and another from Scott in the 79th minute.
In League One, Westdyke Ladies were beaten 3-0 by St Mirren at the SMiSa Stadium, while Torry side Grampian Ladies won 4-2 away to Airdrie.