ABERDEEN'S Under-19s overcame terrible conditions to beat their Hearts counterparts 3-2 at Balgownie yesterday.
Played in a gale, the much talked-about Dons youngsters fought back from 2-1 down at the break to beat the Tynecastle team who have spent much of the season scrapping for the title.
The Dons, whose lengthy unbeaten run came to an end when they went down 1-0 to Rangers at Murray Park last week, were without six regulars, and they lost a goal in 19 minutes through Wallace before an equaliser from Hansson.
Aberdeen were then forced to use 15-year-old substitute Jack Grimmer when Nicky Clark went off injured, and the fact that he completed over 50 minutes of a competitive game two age-brackets up from his own speaks volumes about the regenerated youth set-up at Pittodrie.
Hearts regained the lead before half-time, but it only took two minutes after the interval for the Dons to equalise through McRobbie.
The Dons winner came in injury time, when Nicky Low turned brilliantly and fired a shot from the edge of the box into the keeper's top right hand corner.
After the game, youth team coach Neil Cooper said: "It was a very good win against a strong Hearts side.
We were poor in the first half and gave away a couple of bad goals from our point of view. Although it was a very young team and we facing the wind I still expected us to play better than that.
In the second half though the boys played very well I was very happy with their efforts. The young lad [Grimmer] who came in did a great job for us today."
The Dons' talented kids have two games left to play in the Under-19 league, away to both Kilmarnock and Inverness CT, and will be desperate for the single point that would see them overtake Old Firm giants Celtic in the table - or the four points that would take them to fourth despite a very poor start to the campaign.
Team: Bain, Gallacher, Jarvis, Hansson, Holm, Ross, O'Donnell (Robertson 45), Clark, (Grimmer 37 (Masson 90)), McRobbie, Megginson, Low.
|
