Frustrated Derek McInnes admitted Aberdeen ’s horror start killed them.
The Dons slumped to fourth after a home defeat to Livingston, following a Joe Lewis blunder and then some more awful defending for Nicky Devlin’s second.
McInnes knows his team shot themselves in the foot and never recovered.
He said: “It was such a poor start and we stepped into Livingston’s plan, they stepped off the game then really hunted us at the right times.
“The goal unnerved us, there’s no doubt about it, it was a terrible goal to lose.
“The second goal was every bit as bad, it wasn’t an individual error but it should have been dealt with so much better.
“It was such a poor performance, especially in the first half, and half-time couldn’t come quickly enough.
“Second half was more controlled, but unfortunately we were the ones doing the chasing and they had something to hold on to.
“The first half killed us.
McInnes is adamant his side should have had a second half goal because Lewis Ferguson’s shot had smashed off the bar and dropped over the line.
He insisted: “The goal should stand, it’s such an important part of the game.
“It was so important at that stage of the game for players to get a lift because it was a fantastic striker, but it wasn’t to be.”
Aberdeen now head to Hibs, in the battle for third, and McInnes knows nobody will fancy his side.
“We are going to have to improve on that performance tonight,” he acknowledged.
“Nobody will probably give us a chance on Saturday, we have swapped places with Hibs all season.
“But we went down there before this season and won with a big performance and that’s what we need to do again.
“It’s getting to the business end of the season and we still have it all to do, the run-in will determine what our season is going to look like.”
Aberdeen are also sweating on injuries with Ryan Hedges and Ash Taylor both having to go off last night.
