Ross County 0-3 Aberdeen: McGrath double helps Dons crush County
- Published
Jamie McGrath's second goal was the pick of the bunch in Dingwall
Aberdeen were "outstanding from start to finish" as Jamie McGrath's double helped them thrash Ross County and bounce back from their poor showing against St Mirren.
The Irish midfielder lashed home through a sea of legs to open the scoring, before Leighton Clarkson set up his second with a wonderful piece of play.
Bojan Miovski wrapped up a much-needed three points with a fine individual effort, before County captain Jack Baldwin saw red on a day where nothing went right for Derek Adams's side.
The win moves Aberdeen up to eighth in the Scottish Premiership and within three points of the top six with games in hand, while County stay 11th.
"You could see the speed we played with, the pressing, counter-pressing, and Ross County found us hard to deal with," manager Barry Robson said.
Robson switched to a back four after a weekend display that he said was "nowhere near" the required standard, and his side played like they had a point to prove in the Highlands.
Both teams struggled to create chances in the opening exchanges, but Aberdeen hit the front with just their second shot.
Miovski picked out McGrath from the right-hand side, and the Irish midfielder fired past Ross Laidlaw before the County goalkeeper could set himself.
From there, Aberdeen didn't look back and just six minutes later, they doubled their lead in superb fashion.
Clarkson shaped to shoot from the edge of the box, but instead nutmegged Baldwin, burst into the box and squared it for McGrath, who slotted home from 12 yards with his left foot.
In the second half, Aberdeen continued to pile forward looking for a third, and although Ross Laidlaw made several sharp saves, eventually the pressure told.
Miovski burst away from Baldwin, shifted the ball onto his left foot and fired his shot into the far corner in front of a jubilant away end.
A torrid afternoon for Baldwin and County was capped off in injury time, as the centre-back denied a clear goalscoring opportunity and was dismissed.
Player of the match - Jamie McGrath (Aberdeen)
McGrath got forward to support Miovski with real effect, and fully deserved his two goals
Tactical tweak does the trick for Aberdeen - analysis
Some of the recent criticism aimed at Robson has centred around his refusal to move away from his 3-5-2 formation, but he went with a back four here, and the tactical tweak paid off.
Against St Mirren they were defensively frail, and toothless in attack. Here they restricted County to half-chances, dominated the midfield battle, and fully deserved their three goals.
Graeme Shinnie - who had a stunning solo effort ruled out - and Connor Barron played in a double pivot in front of the back four, which gave Clarkson the freedom to push forward and affect the game in meaningful areas.
Miovski also benefited from the additional support in attack, linking up nicely with McGrath, Clarkson and Polvara.
This shape would appear to get the best out of Aberdeen's key players, and if they can replicate that level of performance, they should be able to move past their indifferent league form.
County were well beaten and are now without a win in four. Adams was pleased with what his side produced at Tynecastle last time out, but this was night and day.
They got into Aberdeen's third of the pitch 70 times, but had just 12 touches in their visitors' box. There was a real lack of composure and quality in attacking areas, as the usually influential Yan Dhanda had a quiet afternoon.
What they said
Ross County manager Derek Adams: "We made three errors over the afternoon, they got three goals, and we didn't test their goalkeeper enough.
"We didn't create enough. We huffed and puffed, but did we have enough shots? The answer's no. Did we defend poorly? The answer's yes. Aberdeen were better than us.
"The manager can't put on performances; players put on performances. There will be transfer business because we don't have enough strength in depth. We have to add to what's already here."
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson: "This season, we've learned a lot about being on the road, being in Europe, and the biggest thing we've struggled to find is consistency.
"We're hoping once we get on the training pitch a bit more the performances can come regularly."
What's next?
Ross County host Partick Thistle in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup on 20 January (15:00), while Aberdeen's cup tie away to Clyde is live on BBC Scotland on 19 January (19:45).