Inverness CT 1 -1 Aberdeen: Craig Brown confident Cameron Smith has bright future

By CRAIG FORBES
Published on 17/09/2012 02:34

ABERDEEN manager Craig Brown believes Cameron Smith possesses all the attributes to go far in the game, providing he is willing to work hard and learn from his peers.

Scorers:

Inverness CT - Foran (67 pen)

Aberdeen - Smith (84)

Attendance: 4,499

The 17-year-old striker came off the bench to rescue a point for the Dons in a 1-1 draw against Inverness in the Highland capital on Saturday.

Inverness midfielder Owain Tudur Jones was shown a straight red card by referee George Salmond for a late tackle on Ryan Fraser in the 53rd minute but the numbers were soon evened up when Aberdeen captain Russell Anderson was given his marching orders for bringing down Shane Sutherland inside the box.

Richie Foran scored the resulting spot-kick to put Caley Thistle in front with 67 minutes gone but the hosts were denied their first win of the season when youngster Smith powered home a header six minutes from time, much to the delight of Dons manager Brown.

He said: “In our last home game against St Mirren, Cameron was in a very similar position but his header hit the underside of the bar and came back out. This time, however, he managed to score and it was a wonderful equaliser.

“Cameron came off the bench at Inverness last season when he was just 16 and played the last 20 minutes. I remember he did really well that day, too.

“If he continues to keep working hard and doing what he’s told then he’ll deserve every success that he’s bound to get in football.”

For Terry Butcher, there was a feeling of frustration and disappointment – not at his own players, but with the match official, George Salmond.

The Inverness manager reckoned the referee made two glaring errors. Firstly, he believed the red card shown to Tudur Jones was harsh. Then he felt his side should have had a second penalty when Aaron Doran went down inside the box minutes before Aberdeen equalised.

Butcher said: “It was never a red card for Owain. He got there late and the boy’s just nicked in before him. It was a yellow card, but never a red card.

“We then go 1-0 up and have a great chance to make it 2-0, but the referee doesn’t give the penalty.

“I spoke to the referee afterwards and he said Aaron Doran scuffed his shot before falling over.

“However, he’s the only man in the planet who saw that.

“You never get consistency from referees. They are the most inconsistent group of people I’ve seen.

“There is no consistency whatsoever. The officials are in charge, but they are letting us down.”

Butcher added: “I felt it was a nothing first half where both sides cancelled each other out, but I was very pleased with the performance my players gave in the second half.”

Aberdeen boss Brown declined to comment on the refereeing performance or on individual decisions, but added, “I think it was a fair result.”