Motherwell star shares what 'spooked' team at Aberdeen as red card decision leaves him baffled
The experienced midfielder has been assessing the Motherwell defeat against Aberdeen.
Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday has hit out at scissor style challenge on him during defeat to Aberdeen - as he provided his verdict on what went wrong at Pittodrie.
The experienced battler was challenged by Pape Habib Gueye during Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Pittodrie. Callum Slattery had put Motherwell ahead but a Kevin Nisbet double plus goals from Alfie Dorrington and Leighton Clarkson sealed a comfortable home win.
Halliday was challenged inside the first half but the referee opted to only show the Aberdeen attacker a booking. The midfielder reckons it could have a sending off a few decades ago and wonders what VAR was doing amid the tackle that him below the knee.
Andy Halliday verdict on possible Aberdeen red card
He said: “For me that tackle was a red card 30 years ago, never mind just now. I don't put too much blame on the referee. He's obviously seen something that maybe wasn't there, but for me VAR's there to help Ross (Hardie) and help the officials and somehow they've not managed to do that. It was a scissor motion just below the knee. I've not seen it back.
“I’m not going to talk about certain professionals in the game but I think if my leg's planted it could be a nasty one for me. I think I'm lucky that after I play the pass my leg's already in an upwards motion and it's not planted on the ground. I asked the referee what he felt he saw. He said that Pape Gueye caught me in the foot.
“So again, you're talking about a clear and obvious error. His information to VAR wasn't actually what happened. So you’re then expecting VAR to step in and help him out, but they haven’t managed to do that. It's 1-1 at the time as well.
“I’ve got to say that I thought Aberdeen would have been the better team up until 1-1, so there's nothing to say that if Pape Gueye gets sent off that we go on to win the game. But I tell you what, it's going to be a different game, that's for sure, with them going down to 10 men after 25-30 minutes, whatever it may be. I’m just not sure how he's managed to stay on the pitch.”
Second best
Halliday did, however, concede Motherwell improvements are needed if they are to clinch a top six spot. They must win against Kilmarnock this weekend in the Premiership to keep their fate in their hands heading into the final pre-split game against former side Hearts, who currently sit sixth.
He added: “First and foremost all credit to Aberdeen. I thought they played well. We set-up all week, we watched a lot of footage on them and we tried to press them in a certain way with the way they try and build the game. They went a lot more direct in the first half and I thought it kind of spooked us a wee bit just in terms of what we've watched throughout the week.
“It caught us off guard so I thought they were really good, specifically in the first half. I thought Aberdeen deserved to win the game. I thought we were a lot better when we readjusted at half-time, specifically in the first 25-30 minutes of the second half.
“We had a couple of big chances but I thought the real disappointment for us was how we reacted to the third goal going in. I thought the last 15 minutes we became so detached and for that I thought Aberdeen could score more. Again, obviously the manager had some choice words with the way we reacted to the third goal and quite rightly so because I thought we were far too open.
“I think a compact shape, following instruction and working hard has been there for everyone to see. But like I said, I thought the last 15 minutes we were a bit too desperate, a bit too forceful. Again, when that happens and you're playing against good teams, there's going to be gaps where they can punish you.
“They obviously eventually get the 4th through a great strike and a slight deflection for the 4th. But again, I think with the gaps that we had, it could have been more. You never know what happens. You could get top 6 on goal difference, you could be bottom 2 or 7th or 8th on goal difference. So you know that these things matter when you're at a stage of the season, so that's a big disappointment for us.”