Anyone who has ever wondered why league games are called “six points” can examine Aberdeen’s position in the Premiership table for proof.
During the incredibly long stretches of Saturday’s match against 11th-placed Ross County, especially the first half, Aberdeen enthusiasts (10th in the early afternoon) accustomed to fate slapping their team in the face will have been ready to see their problems resolved during the under-the-dotted aspect.
But when the decisive goal finally came from Jamie McGrath, his happy result was to propel the Dons with two full wins out of the play-off zone.
Not yet decisive, but very significant for a team whose management had become outrageously one-sided.
As it turns out, those who thought they wouldn’t see Aberdeen win any other game simply weren’t in the right place. Places like the jersey with the number 7.
It’s a garment once inhabited by the lavish Kenny McLean, and more than a passing similarity between the prolific Beyond Linkman and his current successor.
McGrath, like McLean before him, took some time to clarify what express role animated the Aberdeen’s long quest. It felt far more peripheral than it would be worth imagining for a 10-goal midfielder.
But this is due to the fact that, spatially speaking, this is precisely what it has been. Instead of being the central playmaker, entering the box to as devastating effect as here, he spent too many seasons in wider spaces – a sacrificial victim. poor team building.
With a coach on his wavelength, a summer to draft genuine wingers and the likely inevitable departure of Connor Barron, McGrath can be more identified next season on a more balanced team.
Given what he has already brought to this mandate, there is much to look to the future.
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