Aberdeen 2-1 Hearts: Leighton Clarkson winner eases pressure on Barry Robson
- Published
Leighton Clarkson's winner eases pressure on Aberdeen manager Barry Robson
Manager Barry Robson says Aberdeen's spirit was "never in doubt" as they recovered from "taking a slap" to defeat Hearts and ease pressure on the manager.
Leighton Clarkson tapped in Luis 'Duk' Lopes' cross after 92 minutes to spark wild celebrations in the Aberdeen dugout and eventually clinch an eighth straight home win against Hearts.
The visitors had the lead at the break when Lawrence Shankland headed in Alex Cochrane's corner.
At that point the mood at Pittodrie darkened with Aberdeen having won just three of their 14 league games, and lost 23 in a row after conceding first.
But the players showed they are still fighting for their beleaguered manager after coming out strongly after the break with fresh intensity.
"It's great spirit from the players," Robson told BBC Scotland. "It was never in doubt, they've been in there fighting in a lot of big games and they've never let their heads go down.
"I'm really pleased for the players and the fans, who have been brilliant.
"When we've taken a slap this season, we've always come back. You're going to take slaps when you're playing at the level we're playing at.
"But the last three games we've had 57 shots at goal and I'm just glad it's started to go in the net for us."
Jamie McGrath teed up Bojan Miovski to drill in his 12th goal of the season to haul Aberdeen level, which and only swelled their confidence as they searched for a winner.
Duk came off the bench and made an impact, and it was his pace and composure which set up the winner as he surged away from Kye Rowles and the returning Craig Halkett before crossing for Clarkson to finish.
Hearts had several corners and forced Aberdeen into frantic defending in the final five minutes, but could not find the equaliser and drop two places to fifth as a result.
Aberdeen's second home win of the campaign boosts them to ninth ahead of a big week for the club.
They host Eintracht Frankfurt, who thumped Bayern Munich 5-1 on Saturday, on Thursday in the Europa Conference League before a meeting with Rangers in the League Cup final on Sunday.
Player of the match - Jamie McGrath (Aberdeen)
Jack Milne deserves a mention after coming into a high-pressure game and performing well, but Jamie McGrath was brilliant after the break, setting up the equaliser, creating three chances overall and winning the ball back seven times.
Aberdeen show fight for Robson - analysis
This was simply a huge victory for Robson, and the celebrations summed that up.
Though there is no suggestion the hierarchy were reaching for the trigger, many Aberdeen fans felt home defeat by Kilmarnock midweek should be the last straw after a miserable start to the league season.
The doubts about the team - in particular its lack of clear identity and plan domestically - would not have gone away after a meek opening half.
The second half will not have banished them completely either, but the intensity and intent at the very least shows the players are fighting for their manager.
It could be the turning point for them, and if they can get the better of Rangers next week at Hampden their season instantly becomes a success.
Hearts are a curious side. They had won four of their last five games to move up to third without being entirely convincing, but their frailties emerged in the second half as they fell out of the game and lost control of midfield.
As Aberdeen lifted it, Hearts were strangely passive, and their goalscoring struggles are clear. They mustered an expected goals rating of just 0.32, and Shankland has scored more than the rest of his team-mates combined.
Steven Naismith promised attacking football and, although he emphasises that will take time, 15 goals in 16 games will not convince Hearts fans a bright new dawn is around the corner - even if they have improved defensively.
What they said
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson: "It's good to get the three points. We needed it after the last few games.
"The pressure is always there, it's never going to change. That's the world we live in. There have been times we've not got what we deserved in a lot of games but they've stuck at it and they keep going and going."
Robson 'glad ball is starting to go in the net'
Hearts manager Steven Naismith: "Extremely disappointed to come away with nothing after how well we started the game.
"It wasn't any tactical that cost us, we got bullied. They started going more direct and making it into a fight and we didn't deal with it anywhere near as well as we should have. The second goal is just extremely poor."
What's next?
Aberdeen host Eintracht in their final Europa Conference League game (17:45 GMT) before Sunday's League Cup final against Rangers. Hearts visit Celtic Park on Sunday (15:00).