After a poor start to the season Aberdeen appear to have finally turned a corner.
The Dons brushed Ross County aside 4-0 and also delivered a strong performance in the 2-1 Europa Conference League group loss at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Aberdeen supporters have been desperately looking for signs the disappointing form would improve.
Finally they have those signs.
No doubt Aberdeen team are good players – and they must keep showing it
Now Aberdeen boss Barry Robson and his players must keep that going – starting in the League Cup quarter-final at Ross County on Wednesday.
Looking at the Aberdeen players individually, there is no doubt they are good players.
That is my assessment.
However, it was a case of being able to turn a group of good players into a good team.
That is what has happened in the games against Ross County and Eintracht Frankfurt.
We have been waiting for the team to gel because they simply hadn’t in the opening games of the season after a big summer rebuild.
In the Premiership games against Livingston, St Mirren, Hibs and Hearts, it wasn’t coming together.
Aberdeen’s struggles were made brutally clear by a return of just two points from a possible 15 in the Premiership prior to facing Ross County.
The Dons delivered a good performance against Celtic and that was the only league game where you could see the team knew and understood their role.
Games against Ross County have been historically tight, so to secure a 4-0 win and an impressive performance was a real positive.
It also marked the return to goalscoring form of striker Duk.
Aberdeen were solid at the back, creative in midfield and lethal upfront against Ross County.
It was all good for manager Robson and his new-look tea who now appear to be on track.
Willie Miller: Robson got tactics right over past week
Robson always said he was confident his team’s form would turn and that belief appears to have come to fruition.
However, if you analyse the games this season there had been no signs it would change up until the performance against Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.
Robson got his tactics spot on against the Bundesliga side in the Group G opener.
Whenever it is a back five instead of a back three, the Dons have looked pretty solid.
At times against BK Hacken in the Europa League play-offs when it was a back three, Aberdeen looked pretty open.
The good run last season was predominantly a back five, but with a threat going forward.
That tactic came back into use in Germany, where it was five at the back – but not an overly-defensive set-up.
Aberdeen put Eintracht Frankfurt under pressure and got players forward then it was a quick retreat to make sure the defence was solid.
Now they have to keep that level of performance going for the rest of the season.
Aberdeen now face a huge game away to Ross County in the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Give Red Army the cup run they crave
Keeping the fans behind you with a cup run is something Robson and his squad will be hoping for.
If you look at recent history where cup runs have finished early without reaching Hampden, the fans can get a little disheartened.
If the Dons can get a victory in Dingwall, it will build some momentum and secure a semi-final slot at the national stadium.
It will also set them up nicely for a Premiership trip to Rangers on Saturday, with the Ibrox side not looking great at the weekend.
Aberdeen have a huge week that could fully ignite the season in a very positive manner.
After a frustrating start to the campaign, there are now signs that Aberdeen could deliver on the pre-season optimism within the support.
That is due to the evidence before their eyes – which was really solid and exciting performances in the last two games.
Aberdeen’s defensive personnel are now starting to gel and they looked a strong unit in the games against Ross County and Eintracht Frankfurt.
The back five hadn’t played a lot together as it was primarily made of summer signings.
It takes a little bit of time for a defence to gel and they haven’t had much games together.
They are now getting that game time, and time on the training pitch, and it is beginning to pay off.
When you have new players coming in the door time is needed for them to click.
However, you still need results as well so it is a difficult balancing act.
In football you don’t get much time to get it right, but it looks as if this defensive line-up is right now.
Aberdeen looked very solid defensively against Ross County, which was needed as they had been losing goals all season.
The three centre-backs of Richard Jensen, Slobodan Rubezic and Stefan Gartenmann look like they are developing an understanding now.
Nicky Devlin has also been good in whatever position he plays in.
What a finish from Bojan 👏#StandFree | @bojanmiovskii pic.twitter.com/pulo4Z78wt
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) September 25, 2023
Aberdeen have quickly transitioned from the performance in the 2-0 loss to Hearts, where the defence, midfield and attack were not functioning.
In the last two games, it has been the exact opposite as those areas have produced a high level of performance.
Ross County were much more open against Aberdeen which surprised me.
In the first half, they had most of the possession and control of the game up until Aberdeen’s first goal – but still never looked like scoring.
When Ross County lost a goal just before half-time to go 2-0 down, there was no way back for them.
It was the most expansive I have seen Ross County play as they were far too open and paid the price for it.
I believe it will be different in Dingwall in the cup quarter-final as Ross County tend to play a more direct game at home.
Aberdeen will have a different Ross County to contend with on Wednesday.
But if they play the way they did on Sunday they can have optimism of securing a semi-final slot.
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