The loss, which saw Aberdeen lead for more than ninety minutes before giving up two late goals in the final two minutes to suffer their 13th league loss of the season, devastated the seasoned manager.
Neil Warnock, the interim manager of Aberdeen, has taken aim at the VAR’s tardiness in awarding a penalty to St Mirren, which proved to be costly as the Buddies pulled off a stunning comeback against the Dons.
Before Toyosi Olusanya scored the game-winning goal in the 97th minute, Mark O’Hara finished off the penalty kick. The Reds had led for more than ninety minutes after Connor Barron’s incredible opening goal.
With his team sliding to 10th in the standings, Warnock—who has lost all six Premiership games since moving to Pittodrie—admitted he had not felt “as bad as this for a few years.”
“I thought that was the first time we were going to keep a clean sheet,” he stated in an interview with RedTV following the match at SMiSA Stadium. Football can be a harsh game at times. You truly don’t know what to say at the moment, which is unusual for me.
It is disheartening. It shouldn’t take too long to complete the penalty. The boy has performed admirably, but Nicky [Devlin] has to throw it in to get ahead since he can’t put his legs anywhere else.
When you consider it, I don’t believe it to be a penalty. Anyone who has played the game knows that the player is intentionally doing it. However, even so, how long did it take to see that through? It was maybe four or five minutes.
“VAR, it can’t continue like this; our boys are growing chilly. It’s a shame that they have been standing around for five minutes on a chilly afternoon. They were examining the penalty box, but you can’t guarantee that everything is inside. Looking at it that way, I don’t even consider that a foul.
I’m disappointed that I had to wait for so long, and I don’t feel like chatting today. However, we have a cup match the following week. Although it will be discouraging for a few days, we must focus on the cup.”
Dons captain Graeme Shinnie lamented his team’s inability to hold on for a point at 1-1, according to Warnock, who said, “Shinnie just said that in the dressing room, I didn’t have to say anything.” They are aware of how upsetting this is. After 92 minutes of defense, what good is it to give goals away?
But like I said, I just felt that waiting for it on a chilly afternoon was too long. It amazes me sometimes. There’s really no other way to put it. The players gave it their all, and the supporters were great. Killian Phillips covered every blade of grass today, which I thought was fantastic.
It is said that he hasn’t played this season. It’s frustrating since Connor then scored a fantastic goal.
The interim manager must now rouse his team for their Scottish Cup quarterfinal matchup with Kilmarnock the following weekend, although he acknowledged that he will need some time to process the outcome.
“I’ve got to pick myself up this weekend because I haven’t felt this bad in a few years,” Warnock continued. The criminal thing about today is that the boys gave everything they had, even if they didn’t deserve it.”
