Derek McInnes was left to reflect on a night where Aberdeen were their own worst enemies in a poor first 45 minutes against Livingston.

“We spoke after just before the game about the conditions, the wind swirling about and the need for real concentration. It was difficult to get any rhythm going but I felt we played into Livingston’s hands. They stepped off the game and hunted us at the right times, stopped us playing the forward pass.

“In that early period, losing that first goal unnerved us. There’s no hiding from it, it’s a terrible goal to lose, it gives them something to hold onto. Then losing Hedges didn’t help matters and before we’ve settled from that change, they’ve scored again. The second goal is just as bad as the first from our viewpoint. That summed up the first half, such a poor performance and half-time couldn’t come soon enough.

“Second half, it was a far more controlled and measured performance, but we’re having to do the chasing, they’ve got something to hold onto. Young Campbell did well, Kennedy was involved in a lot of things, Hendry did well when he came on, and that second half was much more what I’d expect. We had the momentum and opportunities.

“The goal should have stood. How in this day and age the officials missed that, it’s a clear goal. It was a fantastic strike from young Ferguson and if it stands, it’s so important that the players get that lift, that shot in the arm early in the second half. It wasn’t to be and for all the effort and the better play in the second half, the first half killed us.”

One positive for the Dons was the opportunity to get plenty of minutes on the pitch for debutants Callum Hendry and Fraser Hornby.

“We know that when you make signings in January with boys that haven’t played a lot of football, you have to get them up to speed and that takes a few games. But it was good to get them on the pitch. Playing 75 minutes will be good for Fraser in terms of getting his match fitness, Callum got 50 minutes.

“It was tough for Fraser first half because he was feeding off scraps. He led the line as well as he could in the circumstances, there were some nice touches from him, but he needed more support and better service. Callum looked good, he moved well, his touch was good, he came on at a tough time but he showed well, he was brave, he showed well for the ball, so he can be pleased with his performance.

“We’re looking forward to working with these boys because they can make a difference. That was some sort of positive that we can take out of tonight. Hopefully Kamberi can be with us before Saturday and can play his part as well, because we need everybody now at this stage. We’ll need to wait and see on that but we hope we can get him in for the game at Easter Road.

“We’ve traded places with Hibs all season and we’ve been down there and won with a big performance and that’s what it will require on Saturday. We’re missing too many opportunities at the minute as we go into the business end of the season, but it’s still all there to do. Hopefully we’ll go there and get the desired result, as we have done before.”

It was a night where the Dons’ frustrations were compounded by two more injuries.

“Ash Taylor has pulled a muscle in this thigh, Ryan Hedges landed awkwardly. He’s got his arm in a sling, it’s a pectoral muscle issue, like a rugby injury, so we will assess them tomorrow. Hedges was in a lot of pain and clearly it was inhibiting him. It was a shame because second half, when they were camped in their own box, he could have made a difference. We just have to hope it doesn’t keep him out any length of time.”