Scottish Premier League – Wednesday 27th January 2010
The Pink Bus Shelter, Gorgie Slums
Watching Mark McGhee’s troops has been a confusing prospect for Dandies so far this season, with the inconsistent nature of performances leaving supporters wondering exactly which team is likely to turn up for any given game.
Will it be the 11 players that beat the great unwashed at home, comfortably dealt with Dundee United after Levein’s departure and secured a great battling point at Ibrox, or will it be the side which was humiliated by Sigma, lost to SPL bottom(six)feeders St Mirren and surrendered at home to Hamilton?
Thankfully for the sizeable travelling support, it was the former who took to the pitch at Tynecastle tonight. Goals from starlet Fraser Fyvie and the much-maligned duo of Darren Mackie and Derek Young secured what was, in the end, a fairly comfortable three points for a Dons side which was tidy without being overly impressive.
With the Tescodome filled to capacity, the first ten minutes of the game were largely uneventful as both sides huffed and puffed to little effect. The Red Army had been creating all the noise up until this point, and it wasn’t until a late tackle by Mackie on Bouzid led to a prolonged stoppage that the Jambos finally remembered that they were allowed to sing too, their chorus of ‘You’re Not Famous Anymore’ being met with an ironic round of applause from the Dons fans.
The scarf-twirlers weren’t singing for long though, as a quick interchange between Mackie and Miller allowed Kerr to nutmeg his marker, putting Fyvie clear through on goal. The former Hazleheid loon stayed cool, his sidefoot shot sending Kello the wrong way. At 16 years and ten months, the goal makes him the youngest ever SPL goalscorer, hopefully adding another million or three to his price tag.
Hearts came straight back looking for an equaliser, but Smith’s ambitious acrobatic attempt failed to trouble Langfield. The Dons’ custodian then easily claimed an Obua cross before taking a massive up-and-under well under pressure from Smith. The Hearts youngster and his teenage strike partner Robinson were looking lively, and a smart move between the two put Mulgrew in difficulty as he let the ball bounce, but he recovered to muscle Obua off the ball.
Aberdeen, in their all white change strip, rallied, and a good passing move saw Young find some space at the edge of the box, but his shot was blocked.
The eminently unlikeable Michael Stewart (Pen) then stood on the ball while contesting a challenge with Ifil in the box, but his penalty claim was waved away by the Referee. This disgraceful lunge by the match ball provoked the first of many tantrums from Stewart throughout the night, who spent almost as much time sitting on the floor sulking than he did on the ball. To give the lad his due though, if I’d been blessed with a coupon like a bulldog chewing a wasp, I’d spend most of my time greeting like a bairn too.
Hearts started to dominate possession, and despite some promising openings (and some slightly dodgy defending by Grassi and Ifil), they lacked the guile required to open up the Reds’ defence. Palazuelos ballooned a shot over the bar after more good work from Smith, before a clever foul from Foster saw him booked for bringing down Robinson as the Hearts man was about to break clear on goal. Stewart fired the freekick straight into the wall, then Black, who had replaced the injured Lee Wallace just a few moments before, shanked a 20-yard shot well wide.
A Grassi back-header then put Foster in trouble, but he recovered well to clear, before the Italian dilly-dallied allowing Black to volley tamely at Langfield. Stewart then dragged a shot wide, and Obua sent a header well off-target as the half drew to a close.
Shortly after the interval, Foster drove forward on the overlap, picking out Mackie with an inch-perfect cross, but the Lioncub failed to connect properly, his hooked shot posing no real problem for Kello. He made amends just a few minutes later however, putting the Reds two up with a well taken goal. Miller won a header, knocking it into the path of the industrious Kerr, whose first time pass sent Mackie through on goal. He beat the on-rushing keeper to the ball, stabbing it home from the edge of the box to score his second goal against the Jambos in as many weeks.
The Dons took the upper hand, Miller and Mulgrew both sending free kicks wide, before a powerful shot from Kerr flew just past the upright and Mulgrew’s right-foot shot sailed harmlessly over. Stewart was then lucky he didn’t make contact with a horrible lunge at Foster, which would have surely seen him red-carded.
At the other end, the Beast was on hand to take a sore one while making a last-ditch tackle, but by this point, as an attacking force, Hearts looked spent. Their night was summed up by the woeful Obua, who delivered a truly hopeless cross after some slack play by Gary MacDonald. Hearts had aimed long balls towards the lanky Ugandan all night, hoping that his height would help him win the ball ahead of Foster. They obviously failed to take into account the fact that he’s got a head like a 50 pence piece though, as the no. 13 regularly failed to keep the ball in, let alone find his teammates with a header.
Fyvie continued to be a handful down the left side, and Mackie bustled about making a nuisance of himself. Clearly buoyed by his goal, he embarked on a surging run from his own half, his progress only being halted by a cynical Zaliukas body-check, before forcing a good save from Kello after a quick long ball from Langfield.
Hearts then brought on the improbably-named Rocky Visconte for Palazuelos, and the left-back looked out his depth. More often than not, his first touch was so bad that his second touch was a tackle. I don’t know what his boxing’s like, but he made Sylvester Stallone’s performance in Escape to Victory look credible.
Mulgrew then picked up a deserved booking after clattering into Black on the touchline, and the defender was substituted soon after, having played well, proving a calm and cultured foil for Ifil’s brute force. Zander Diamond, making his first appearance after a lengthy injury, took his place to a standing ovation from the away fans.
When Fyvie was fouled 30 yards out a moment later, there seemed confusion as to who would take the resulting free kick with Mulgrew off. Young stepped up and his freekick missed everyone, eventually sneaking in at the far post after Miller failed to get a touch, sending the Dandies into raptures, and the Gorgie-dwellers home for an early night.
The game largely petered out after this, the Dons bringing on Maguire for Mackie and Hearts replacing Smith with Wittenveem. Nicky Low made his first team debut for Aberdeen, coming on for Fyvie as Robinson went off injured leaving hearts with only ten. In the final minute, Black was badly injured, eventually leaving the field on a stretcher, as the Dons saw the game out to claim a vital three points in the push for the top six.
Sieve
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