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Dons In Comfortable Win

29 September 2007

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After dominating the match in the opening 45 minutes the Dons went flat after the break. The Dons had carved out chance after chance before the break and the two goals came in the space of two minutes when Diamond opened the scoring in the 16th minute when he headed a Jamie Smith corner into the net. Two minutes later the provider turned goal scorer when he charged down a clearance, ran 40 yards and fired the ball past Fleming for a deserved 2-0 lead. The second half had little to offer as Gretna enjoyed more of the ball and the Dons took the foot off the pedal. Another positive to take was the return of Darren Mackie in the second half as he got a run out before Thursday.

Aberdeen kicked off the first ever match with Gretna and carved out the first chance of the match when de Visscher and Young combined well on the right and Jamie Smith fired inches over the bar with a shot from the edge of the box. A minute later Miller won a free kick 35 yards out and Jamie Smith went even closer as his shot slipped wide. Aberdeen were dominating the open stages and Michael Hart had a shot blocked in the 4th minute before Young showed fine skill in the 8th minute as he controlled a difficult ball and won the first corner of the match.

The ball was easily cleared but the Dons retained possession although no one was willing to have a shot at goal as the ball moved from left to right across the Gretna 18 yard line. Aberdeen almost took the lead in the 13th minute as de Visscher went one on one with the keeper and as the Dutchman tried to chip Fleming the keeper did well to block the effort. A minute later de Visscher had another effort that was deflected for a corner.

The resultant corner saw Fleming produce a fine double save from Severin before the ball was scrambled clear for another corner. This time Diamond rose above the defence to head Jamie Smith’s delivery over the keeper and in to the net. The Dons doubled their advantage two minutes later when Jamie Smith charged down a poor clearance, ran from the half way line and fired the ball past Fleming for a 2-0 lead. Lee Miller was flagged offside in the 24th minute and three minutes later Chris Clark had low shot that failed to test the keeper.

Aberdeen should have made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute as de Visscher and Smith combined well but Smith’s shot was wide of the post but not close enough for de Visscher to turn in. There were appeals for a spot kick two minutes later when Nicholson raced into the box and appeared to have his shirt tugged as he closed down the keeper, who in turn made a fine save. Langfield had his first save of the match in the 37th minute when he was forced to punch clear a well-delivered free kick. Miller won Aberdeen a free kick three minutes from the break and the assistant’s flag halted a clever quick free kick. A minute later Jenkins had a weak shot that was easily gathered by Langfield.

Aberdeen carved out the first chance of the second half in the 50th minute when Smith found de Visscher on the right. The Dutchman cut inside but his shot went well over. Jenkins then had a very ambitious pop at goal from about 40 yards but the only people worried were the kids sitting in Row Z. The second half had failed to match the play of the first half although Gretna were putting up more of a fight. Horwood collected the first yellow card of the match in the 63rd minute and seconds later Mackie replaced de Visscher with half an eye on Thursday night.

Mackie made an immediate impact as he caused all sort of problems for the Gretna defence with his persistence and Fleming was forced into a save from the substitute. Nicholson followed up and his shot was deflected wide of the target. Mackie was clearly fouled in the 73rd minute but the referee allowed play to continue and at the other end Yantorno, looking a yard offside fired well over the bar when it looked easier to score. A minute later Langfield missed a cross and the Dons were lucky to escape punishment.

Collin thumped Miller for the umpteenth time in the 78th minute and to everyone’s surprise both players were booked. A minute later Lee Mair replaced Chris Clark and after a bit of pressure from Gretna Aberdeen stepped up again with Smith carving out a couple of chances. There were chances at both ends in the dying minutes as a Gretna corner was cleared by Diamond with an acrobatic overhead kick then at the other end Jamie Smith went on a lung busting run before cutting the ball back behind Darren Mackie.

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