Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson fears his side's 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone at Pittodrie could prove more costly than just losing three points. The Dons dominated possession but were undone by a Josh Fowler penalty, ending their four-game unbeaten run.
Compounding the frustration was the loss of striker Ayoub Mouloua to a hefty head knock. It remains unclear whether the injury is concussion, but medical staff followed protocols as a safety precaution.
Robinson on Mouloua substitution
Robinson said: "I have not spoken to medical staff. I haven’t spoken to them but they took him off. I don’t know where that is at the moment."
He added: "He nearly scored from 30 yards. The amount of balls that were going into the box Ayoub would have benefited from that. We brought good players on the pitch, in my opinion, after he went off and we weren’t able to do that. Health comes before football, that is the way I have always looked at it."
Dominance without end product
Robinson acknowledged his team had the majority of the ball but admitted they lacked quality in the final third. He stated: "We totally dominated the game. In the first half we moved the ball far too slowly. There were too many passes in front of them and we took too long to move the ball."
"The second half was better, we moved it quicker and got into areas that should have hurt them, but the end product and quality or decision making let us down numerous times. I said to the boys that is not what I am seeing in training, I am seeing confidence and quality and we have not been able to replace that."
He continued: "Out with Kevin, if Kevin doesn’t score we need other people to step up. I see that in training. At the moment, we are taking one touch too many. We are playing safe and sometimes with a little bit of fear. A goal changes everything and we didn’t manage to get one and that increases the pressure on your decision-making and we weren’t able to deal with that."
Penalty call and debut positives
Aberdeen lost to a VAR penalty call, and Robinson claimed: "I haven’t seen it back, but if it has hit Jack (Milne)’s hand then the rules of the game - I’m not sure where he is about other put his hands - but if it hits his arm from an inch or a yard and now it is penalty."
Winger Hicham Mahou, on his debut, was a positive on a tough afternoon. His manager added: "He needs to be more positive. I have said I need more out of all the wingers. I see so many quality and an end product in training. It is tough playing for Aberdeen but that is what they have worked for."
Robinson concluded: "I know they can step up to it. They need to do it sooner rather than later. Hicham is not fully fit yet. It was about getting as many creative player on the pitch, but we didn’t manage to break them down." Chris Cadden also limped off, but it's understood this was more cramp than any other injury risk.
