Aberdeen Women manager Clint Lancaster believes his side were “terrible” as they fell to a 3-0 defeat to Motherwell in the SWPL.
Motherwell went 1-0 up after only five minutes at K-Park through Morgan Cross, before Laura Berry netted a brace with goals in the 28th and 67th minutes.
The defeat leaves Aberdeen seventh in the SWPL with 28 points – but Motherwell are now only three points behind in eighth.
Lancaster said: “We made it so much easier for them. We were terrible and so far off it.
“We just looked leggy from the start and there is no excuse. There is no reason why we should be like that because we didn’t have a game last weekend, so I don’t understand why we were second to everything.
“We showed no interest in wanting to play and were just panicky on the ball. It was a really poor performance.
“The second goal comes from us not working hard enough to track players back. We’re jogging – not running – so I really can’t argue with the result.
“We didn’t create anywhere near enough. Their goalkeeper probably has frostbite in the second half because she has had nothing to do.
“It is a really poor performance. We have to learn from it, move on now – and do that quickly.”
Motherwell take early lead against Aberdeen Women
Motherwell has started the brighter of the two sides with two early chances, but the best opportunity inside the opening 10 minutes fell to Aberdeen with Bayley Hutchison hitting the crossbar with a strike from inside the box.
But it was soon 1-0 to the hosts when Cross was played through by Louisa Boyes and she slotted the ball into the bottom corner under Dons goalkeeper Jeni Currie.
Motherwell went close to doubling their lead with Aberdeen’s Francesca Ogilvie hooking an effort off the line, before Katie Rice flashed a strike just wide of the post.
The woodwork denied Hutchison again after the Dons forward hit a powerful low shot from the edge of the Motherwell box after latching on to a long ball forward from Ogilvie.
However, Rangers loanee Berry made it 2-0 when she fired home from a couple yards out after Cross did well to work the ball into the box.
With Aberdeen 2-0 down, Lancaster made his first substitutions just before the break as Phoebe Murray and Eva Thomson came on for Lois Edwards and Hannah Innes – changes which saw the visitors change to a back four.
The Dons boss said: “We were getting murdered. We were getting murdered down the sides and had to make a change.
“To be fair to Hannah Innes, she’s not had much to do. We just could not get the ball to her – we couldn’t get out.
“Credit to Motherwell. They pressed us high. If we won, we would have been nine clear in seventh, but now it’s done to three. It is up to us to respond now in our next game.”
Before the half was up, it was a hat-trick of hitting the woodwork for Hutchison as the striker saw another effort come back off the bar.
The home side had the ball in the back of the net again on the hour mark, but Brooke Nunn’s powerful strike was chalked off for offside.
But it was soon 3-0 as Berry bragged her brace in the 67th minute, burying the rebound following goalkeeper Currie’s save to deny an initial effort from Nunn.
Hutchison thought she had pulled a goal back the Dons with a tap-in following a superb ball across the face of goal from skipper Hannah Stewart, but the flag was up and it remained 3-0.
In the dying stages, Aberdeen substitute Darcie Miller had a chance to net a consolation, but her low drive was well saved by Emily Mutch using her feet.
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