Zander Diamond came through 90 minutes of reserve league football last night as he looks to return to first team action after over two months out through injury. The confident defender, who has yet to concede a first-team goal this season, came through the match unscathed as the Dons youngsters beat Hearts 2-1 courtesy of a John Stewart double. A similar result this coming Sunday would go a long way to repairing the damage inflicted last weekend that I can't remember very much about.
The visitors grabbed an early lead through Simmons in six minutes, but the home side turned the deficit around after the break, with Celtic Park hero John Stewart levelling after sixty minutes, smashing a spectacular volley home. Then with fifteen minutes left to go, fellow young first-teamer Ricky Foster set Stewart up to score the winner.
After the game, big Zander told Aberdeen official website RedWeb, "It was great to be back and I'm feeling strong after the game. I was delighted to complete the 90 minutes and the knee stood up well. There were a few hard tackles but I felt no reaction so hopefully I'll be pushing for a place in the senior squad this Sunday. Obviously it's up to the gaffer but I'm feeling good after that game."
Parkhead match-winner Stewart added, "I was very pleased with my first goal and hit it well. The second was a lot easier, but to be honest I thought I had missed. Thankfully it ended up in the net and was enough to give us the win."
The Dons fans will hope that this shows that there are no confidence-sapping after-effects lingering from Sunday's defeat, and hopefully Zander and young Stewart will help the Dons to a result against Hearts' full team this coming Sunday to cement our third place in the league.