Robinson calls for more Aberdeen scorers after St Johnstone defeat

Stephen Robinson has urged Aberdeen's players to share the goalscoring burden after Sunday's home defeat by St Johnstone left his side without a goal in five of their first eight league matches. According to BBC Sport Scotland, the manager acknowledged the lack of contributions beyond Kevin Nisbet but maintained that his squad had the ability to improve.

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Aberdeen had 65% possession and attempted 22 shots against St Johnstone, with both their shot and pass totals reaching season highs. Those numbers did not produce a goal, however. Visiting goalkeeper Toby Steward denied Nisbet after a through ball sent the striker through one-on-one, one of two big chances BBC Sport reported for the home side during the match.

The defeat left Aberdeen with seven league goals from eight games, four of which came in their 4-0 victory over Motherwell. Nisbet has scored three of the seven, accounting for 43% of the team's total, from five shots on target. Robinson said other players needed to contribute, making clear that the responsibility for improving the scoring record extended beyond his leading scorer.

The figures highlighted in the BBC report also showed Aberdeen's difficulties in creating opportunities. Their expected-goals total of 8.3 was the lowest in the division, as was their average of 2.9 shots on target per match. They had created 12 big chances across the eight fixtures, a joint-low total. Falkirk and Kilmarnock had also scored seven times over the same number of league games.

Robinson said the quality he saw in training was not yet being translated into matches. He identified the final pass and decision-making against St Johnstone as areas that fell below the standard he believed his players could reach. The manager also pointed to the difficulty of breaking down deep-lying opponents, saying Celtic and Rangers faced that problem too, while acknowledging Aberdeen's own shortcomings.

Lewis Smith, Tony Yogane and Hicham Mahou were introduced from the bench, with Mahou making his Aberdeen debut. Their involvement did not end the team's scoreless afternoon. Robinson nevertheless expressed belief that his players could find a solution and called for bravery as they tried to turn their training-ground work into goals in league competition.