Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0 - 2 Aberdeen: Old guard return to help Dons

Aberdeen bounced back from their Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Hibernian with another victory at Caledonian Stadium courtesy of two own-goals, but perhaps more satisfying than their latest win at one of their happier hunting grounds was the return to the starting line-up of two Dons stalwarts in Jamie Langfield and Russell Anderson.

Goalkeeper Langfield made his first competitive appearance since the last day of last season following a seizure last summer which left him fearing for his life. And Anderson made his first start since returning to the club in January on a short-term deal until the end of the season.

The 33-year-old, still finding his way back to full fitness following a horrendous spell of injuries that hampered his time at both Sunderland and Derby, captained the side in the win over Inverness, and manager Brown felt he showed up well.

He said: “That was Russell’s first competitive game since October and he looked good. He was up against a strong player in Gregory Tade, while Inverness put Jonny Hayes up through the middle later in the match and Billy McKay is difficult to deal with because of his pace. However, he coped well with them all and it was pleasing to see him get back into action.”

Aberdeen only mustered one shot on target throughout the game but Roman Golobart put them in front by heading into his own net 48 seconds after half-time. It was the on-loan Wigan centre-back’s second own goal in Aberdeen’s favour after he scored for them in a 2-1 win for Inverness on Christmas Eve.

Caley full-back Kenny Gillet doubled the Dons’ lead with a minute left when a shot from Josh Magennis, the striker who was handed a new role at right-back, rebounded off goalkeeper Jonny Tuffey on to the Frenchman and across the line.

The defeat left Inverness manager Terry Butcher questioning his players’ attitude and suggesting that some of them are doing little to aid their cause in terms of winning a new contract.

Their ninth home defeat of the season encapsulated what has been an inconsistent season. They have now gone three months without a league success in the Highland Capital and, with 12 players out of contract come the end of the season, Butcher is bemused by the lack of urgency from his players.

He believes many of his team have let their minds wander to their summer holidays as the sun shone down on Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

He said: “We’ve shown we can talk the talk. Now, we’ve got to walk the walk when it comes to playing matches. We’re in a bad place just now, but we don’t want the season to peter out. Perhaps because it was a sunny day some of them were thinking about their summer vacations and were on a sun lounger somewhere sipping a pina colada.”