Motherwell 1 - 1 Aberdeen: Gannon showers praise on rock-solid Ruddy

Published on Sunday 22 November 2009 23:17

MOTHERWELL manager Jim Gannon believes there is no better goalkeeper in Scotland than John Ruddy, and the Fir Park custodian's display against Aberdeen was certainly worthy of high praise.

Ruddy saved at point-blank range from Lee Miller's header seconds before Lukas Jutkiewicz fired inside Jamie Langfield's near post to give the hosts a 13th-minute lead. The on-loan Everton player made similar last-ditch saves from Michael Paton and Jerel Ifil either side of half-time and looked set to defy the visitors until Gary McDonald finally broke his resistance by heading home a Charlie Mulgrew delivery at the back post.

Gannon said: "There were some fantastic saves. He was called upon because of some poor defending in front of him, but John is probably the best goalkeeper in Scotland just now.

"John has got the presence and quality. We're delighted to have him and delighted to give him the opportunity to show what he is capable of. I think he is destined for great things."

Fellow loanee Jutkiewicz, whose goal took his tally to five in the SPL, agreed with Gannon's assessment of his Everton team-mate. "I've watched a lot of Scottish football since I've been up here and I can't see there is anyone who would stand above him," the 20-year-old said. "He is really flying at the moment. I've seen him make saves like that plenty of times at Everton and here at Motherwell. It's nice for him to get a little bit of notice. His stature and presence are probably a bit daunting for strikers and it instils confidence in the players in front of him."

McDonald was sent off immediately after his 68th-minute goal when he received a second yellow card from Crawford Allan for lifting the front of his shirt over his head. And although Motherwell missed some decent chances thereafter, Aberdeen finished the stronger side, with Ruddy diving low to push away Michael Paton's angled drive as it skidded along the wet surface.

Aberdeen captain Mark Kerr said: "We're showing that we're all in it together. We dug in it and the end and Michael created a chance for himself and their keeper has made another great save. It shows when we're down we keep digging in. I thought we could have started a bit better but it was pleasing we came out and set the tone in the second half."

Aberdeen had immediately put the hosts under pressure following the restart after Gannon swapped Jim O'Brien for Ross Forbes and moved Jamie Murphy wide despite the Scotland Under-21 striker looking dangerous in a central position just off the front two.

"We felt Aberdeen would be clever enough to figure out a weakness in the system and use their full-backs to get out," Gannon said. "So we went to a flatter midfield. We're fortunate we've got some fantastic players and they understand what we're trying to do with different shapes.

He added: "I think we created enough chances when we were down to 10 men to win the game."