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Dons Slip Back To Eighth Spot

17 February 2008

No reward for attacking show.

Aberdeen dominated this match from start to finish, were twice denied by the woodwork and denied several times by Ma Kalambay. Despite their dominance they found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 score line after losing two goals in a six minute spell at the start of the second half and an injury time goal at the end. Hibs were a shambles in the first half and the only puzzle was how Aberdeen were only 1-0 ahead. The home side improved after the break and levelled from a dubious free kick and then went ahead after poor defending allowed Shiels to score. Aberdeen laid siege to the Hibs goal but couldn’t find a way through and Hibs added a third deep in injury time to hand them a flattering 3-1 win and sent Aberdeen down to eighth place in the SPL.

Aberdeen won the opening corner kick in the 2nd minute after Severin drilled a volley from distance and the keeper had to look lively to turn it round his post. Ma Kalambay claimed the corner to relieve the pressure on the Hibs goal, but early exchanges were littered with misplaced passes. Aberdeen won a free kick in the 5th minute but Hibs were able to scramble the ball clear then the home side enjoyed a spell of pressure without threatening Langfield’s goal until Fletcher fired wide after linking with Shiels in the 11th minute. Seconds later Maguire and Aluko combined well to set up de Visscher who was denied by a fine save from Ma Kalambay.

Charlie Richmond was doing little to help the game flow as he stopped play at every opportunity. Maguire had a shot in the 16th minute that was easily held by the keeper and at the other end Hibs won their first corner that was easily dealt with by Langfield. Good play from Maybury produced the Dons second corner as a Nicholson’s effort was deflected wide. From the set play Aberdeen took the lead as they cashed in on poor defending and Diamond was on hand to blast the ball into the net after Hibs failed to clear their lines. Aberdeen almost doubled their lead four minutes later after good play from Aluko set up the chance and Ma Kalambay touched the ball on to the woodwork as Hogg attempted to clear.

Aberdeen looked hard done by in the 26th minute when a quick clearance from Langfield set Maguire away and the youngster was controversially flagged offside. Aluko won a free kick on the half hour mark and the Hibs defence went to sleep again as a quick free kick was taken and Aluko broke down the right, but Miller was unable to finish the move. Ma Kalambay was tested again in the 32nd minute as he collected a curling Nicholson shot and took a dangerous step back towards his goal line then the keeper denied Maybury two minutes later after he combined well with Severin.

Aberdeen were dominating the game at this stage and were desperate to grab a second before the interval. Another free kick in the 39th minute should have produced a second goal but Maguire pulled his effort across the face of the goal and wide of the far post when a cut back might have paid dividends. Jones was forced to scramble the ball clear again two minutes later and a blatant dive from Nish won the home side a free kick at the other end. Hibs failed to threaten from the set play and Aberdeen were quickly back on the attack, but couldn’t add a second before the break.

Aberdeen started the second half the same way as they ended the first as they looked to add to their solitary goal. Hibs won a dangerous free kick in the 48th minute based on an appeal by the Easter Road crowd and little else as Nish and Mair went into a challenge. Zemmama stepped up and although Langfield got a hand to the ball he couldn’t keep it out of the net. The goal had lifted the home team and they won a corner four minutes later but Aberdeen dealt with the set play. There was a shocking high challenge on Maguire by Zarabi in the 53rd minute and how the Hibs player escaped a caution will remain one of life’s mysteries.

An Aberdeen corner a minute later was well gathered by the keeper then Hibs unbelievably took the lead when Severin lost the ball cheaply in the middle of the park. Langfield made a great block from Shiels first effort but the Hibs man followed up to put the ball over Langfield and Diamond and into the net. Aberdeen pushed forward and won a couple of corners and Lee Miller should have scored from the second but failed to react. At the other end Langfield made a terrific save from Shiels and picked up a nasty knock when the Hibs striker went in late on the keeper. The Hibs striker was booked as was Diamond for his reaction to the challenge.

Hibs had the ball in the net again in the 61st minute but the flag had been up for at least half a minute before hand. Zemmama should have received a second yellow card two minutes later for a blatant tug on Nicholson as he went in on goal. The Dons should have levelled from the well worked free kick but once again Ma Kalambay made a great save from Maguire. Nicholson then won another corner and a shout went up for a spot kick as Murray looked to have handled, but the referee said no and Hibs broke to the other end and won their own corner.

Ma Kalambay once again denied Aberdeen in the 66th minute as this time he blocked a de Visscher effort. The match was raging from end to end now and Hibs won a corner in the 68th minute but Langfield gathered comfortably. Two minutes later an Aluko free kick won another corner and this was quickly followed by a second as Walker and Lovell waited to come on. Ma Kalambay flapped at the ball and mysteriously won a free kick for his incompetence. Maguire and de Visscher were then replaced by Walker and Lovell as Aberdeen looked to get something from the match.

Aberdeen won their seventh corner of the half in the 73rd minute and must have been wondering how they managed to be trailing 2-1 at this stage. Another free kick two minutes later was wasted then seconds later an Aluko shot was turned for another corner by Ma Kalambay, but once again the delivery was too close to the keeper. Aberdeen were now laying siege to the Hibs goal but they just couldn’t find a way past the erratic Ma Kalambay. Another atrocious challenge did produce a caution in the 79th minute and this time it was Rankine who saw yellow.

Stuart Duff replaced Mair in the 82nd minute as Calderwood reverted to a back three and within two minutes Duff was denied by the woodwork as he latched on to a Severin cross. From the rebound Miller somehow managed to block a Lovell effort, which summed up the luck that Aberdeen were enjoying this afternoon. A curious decision in the 83rd minute saw Gathuessi finally booked for pushing Lee Miller over in the box as they awaited a throw in, but no spot kick was awarded for the foul. Aberdeen were bearing down on goal with three minutes remaining when referee Richmond elected to stop play because Murray was down but obviously had no head injury. As Aberdeen continued to push for an equaliser Fletcher grabbed an undeserved third deep in injury time.

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