Stuart Armstrong has admitted Aberdeen are seeking redemption when Dundee visit in the Premier Sports Cup, following a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Dens Park on Saturday.
Poor Performance Acknowledged
The Dons' unbeaten start came to an abrupt end, with Armstrong conceding: "It was very poor, a bad performance throughout." He noted the second half was slightly better, but conceding the second goal deflated the team, as keeping it at 1-0 would have offered a glimmer of hope.
"We didn't find enough solutions on the ball, we were poor off the ball. We didn't win enough second balls either, so there was an accumulation of a lot of bad stuff," Armstrong added.
Redemption at Pittodrie
The former Scotland international highlighted the chance for an immediate response when Dundee travel to Pittodrie this weekend. "For us, the thing is we get a chance of redemption next weekend. It's a chance to learn and a chance to play a lot better," he said.
Manager Stephen Robinson claimed his team didn't match Dundee's physicality in midfield. Armstrong admitted they lost too many individual battles, stating: "There's pride to that, us on the pitch winning our individual battles. That always helps and I think in the first half in particular we didn't do that."
Gelling Process
Aberdeen have signed 13 players this season, and Armstrong acknowledged the squad is still gelling. "This club, there's expectation, pressure and the fans. We are still gelling again, the last few seasons there has been a lot of players in and a lot of players out. That always takes time and is necessary for the club to move forward," he explained.
Despite the setback, the Dons had won their first five games before this defeat. Armstrong insisted: "We have had a lot of positive results so far and showed a lot of character last week to come back and win. But this was disappointing. I always think you learn more from a defeat than you do from a win."
