Jim Goodwin wanted Bojan Miovski so badly he was prepared to wait several months for the North Macedonian striker’s signature – and the Aberdeen boss’s patience has been well rewarded.
A bid to sign the 23-year-old from MTK Budapest in January didn’t materialise and it took until the end of last season – plus a further wait over visa and work permit issues – for him to finally get his man.
Now the £535,000 fee they forked out for him is beginning to look like peanuts and could certainly be money well spent as the frontman’s value continues to soar with his two strikes against Kilmarnock – one from the penalty spot – taking his Premiership tally to seven.
And Miovski has one major aim – to be Scotland’s top marksman at the end of the campaign. He said: “When I came here Aberdeen showed me the plan of playing attacking football. For me as a striker that’s perfect. I knew I would score goals if I signed for Aberdeen.
“I like the style we play much more than last season in Hungary. I am enjoying it and I have a good connection with all of the players and I hope it continues like that.
“It’s nice to score all the goals I have scored and I hope I can continue like this. I wanted to score a hat-trick but I have been travelling a lot with the national team for two or three days, so for me getting 65 minutes before being substituted was perfect. I didn’t want any risk of getting injured.”
The Dons dazzled in the Pittodrie sunshine, although Goodwin was concerned that despite going 2-0 up after 24 minutes, with goals from Vicente Besuijen and Miovski’s spot kick, slack defending allowed Killie back in the game through Ash Taylor’s header three minutes later.
It was the Ayrshire club’s first away goal of the season as ex-Don Taylor rattled the opposition until the Pittodrie outfit were awarded the penalty just before the break.
It came as Miovski went down when Killie keeper Zach Hemming’s leg stretched for the ball and while ref Kevin Clancy didn’t hesitate to point to the spot, the visitors were unlucky to be sanctioned.
However, in the end Goodwin wasn’t the only one gushing about Miovski’s scoring technique as he clipped the ball over Zach Hemming just on the break. The 16,000 home fans loved what they saw as the goal-grabber insisted he was inspired by them.
He said: “I enjoyed the fans’ support a lot. It has pushed me and given me extra motivation to do better on the pitch. I hope I can score many more goals for the team and the fans.
“My target is to be top scorer in the league this season. Every striker thinks about this and dreams about this. When they (other strikers) score, they push me to play better. When I see them scoring goals it pushes me on to score even more goals and be the top scorer for the team I am playing for.”
Anthony Stewart’s header just after an hour’s play underlined Aberdeen’s second half dominance as the Rugby Park defence struggled to keep tabs on the tempo set by a home team packed with energy.
Hayden Coulson and Jonny Hayes ran riot down the left, creating a catalogue of chances while at the other end Dons keeper Kelle Roos had to be at his best to stop one or two half-chances, particularly Liam Polworth’s stunning 30-yard effort.
The Ayrshire club are finding life tough in the top tier and with Christian Doige and Oli Shaw struggling to find the net and the defence toiling, boss Derek McInnes will welcome the January transfer window to boost his options.
McInnes hoped for better from his side on his return to Pittodrie, 18 months after chairman Dave Cormack decided rookie boss Stephen Glass would do a better job, – an experiment that fell flat before Goodwin was recruited and the squad was overhauled.
McInnes thanked the Aberdeen fans for their warm welcome but there was no fairytale ending to that particularly story as he looks to revitalise a team with just one league win to their name.
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