Derek McInnes claims 'unnerved' Aberdeen were denied 'clear' goal against Livingston

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes believes the Dons were denied a legitimate goal in their 2-0 defeat by Livingston at Pittodrie.
Derek McInnes felt this strike from Lewis Ferguson should have resulted in a goal.Derek McInnes felt this strike from Lewis Ferguson should have resulted in a goal.
Derek McInnes felt this strike from Lewis Ferguson should have resulted in a goal.

The Dons boss was angered by the failure to award Lewis Ferguson a goal for his effort which came back off the underside of the bar, insisting the ball crossed the line.

Livingston ended up taking the spoils thanks to an own goal from Joe Lewis and a header from Nicky Devlin. The fifth-placed Lions moved to within five points of Aberdeen, who relinquished their grip on third place after Hibs jumped two points ahead of them with a 2-1 win at St Mirren.

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Aberdeen face the Hibees in Edinburgh on Saturday and, while lamenting the decision not to award Ferguson a goal early in the second half, McInnes is demanding a positive response from his players.

"The goal should stand," McInnes said. "I've seen it again but I didn't need to. It was a clear goal.

"We spoke in the warm-up about the conditions and the need for concentration. It was difficult to get any sort of rhythm.

"The opening goal unnerved us. It was a terrible goal to lose and the second was just as bad. Half-time couldn't come quick enough.

"Nobody will give us a chance against Hibs on Saturday. It'll require a big performance and it's a big game for us."

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