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No New Year Cheer ...

03 January 2009

…for lacklustre Dons.

Basement side Hamilton ended the Dons winning run this afternoon as the Lanarkshire club look like being the Dons bogey side for this season. The Dons deserved nothing from the match following a lacklustre performance and this was not the start they were looking for in 2009. Both goals came in the second half as a controversial Mensing spot kick opened the scoring and a late Offiong goal completed a deserved win for the home side. With a series of tough games coming up this month, Jimmy Calderwood will need to turn things round if they are to keep the pressure on Hearts and Dundee United in the race for Europe.

There was a large Aberdeen contingent inside the stadium as the match started on the revised narrow pitch. Hamilton won an early corner, but Scott Severin was on hand to clear. Aberdeen carved out their first chance in the 6th minute when Mackie set up de Visscher, but the Dutchman fired the effort well over the bar. A minute later de Visscher did test the keeper and won the first Dons corner. Mair should have done better as he sent a free header over the bar.

Hamilton carved out a good chance in the 10th minute but Offiong fired over. Lee Mair required lengthy treatment on the 15 minute mark, but was able to continue after treatment. Two minutes later Diamond was forced to concede a corner as McCarthy threatened, but foul play ended the threat. At the other end Lee Miller won a free kick in a dangerous position and Scott Severin powered a decent shot in, but it went inches over the bar. Gary McDonald went down in the box in the 23rd minute, but it would have been a soft award and the Dons midfielder was penalised when he handled the ball on the way down.

The home side were putting Aberdeen under a lot of pressure at this stage and midway through the first half Severin was winded as he desperately defended the Dons goal. A poor pass from Mair in the 25th minute put McDonald under pressure and he was forced to concede a foul and was lucky to avoid the first yellow card of the match. Two minutes later a great pass from Aluko released Mackie, but the striker was closed down and his shot blocked. Aberdeen were certainly not showing the form of recent weeks at this stage and were forced to do a lot of defending in this first half.

Hamilton won their third corner in the 35th minute, but Langfield gathered comfortably. Two minutes later the home side went close when Graham latched on to a poor clearance from Diamond and the ball flashed across the face of the goal with Langfield scrambling. Elebert then collected the first card of the game for a tug on Miller’s shirt. A couple of long throws from Severin in the closing minutes of the half failed to threaten the home goal, but the Dons won their second corner of the game in the 44th minute and Miller’s flick on came off a Hamilton defender only for the referee to award a goal kick.

Aberdeen carved out a chance in the opening minute as Miller and Mackie combined before de Visscher drilled the ball wide with Cerny rooted to the spot. A minute later a Severin throw in was flicked on by Miller but the keeper reacted quickly to claim the ball. Hamilton were awarded a controversial penalty in the 51st minute when Mair appeared to trip McCarthy just outside the box, but referee Finnie pointed to the spot and Mensing made no mistake with the kick as he blasted the ball past Langfield.

Aberdeen attempted to hit back quickly and Miller won a corner in the 55th minute, but Aluko’s delivery was easily gathered by the keeper. A minute later Aluko was body checked by Elebert as he chased a through ball and the Dons won a free kick 22 yards out. Miller hit the ball well but the keeper tipped it over the bar. From the resultant corner Miller headed over. Foster collected a yellow card in the 62nd minute after reacting to a wild challenge from Offiong, who was also booked for his part in the incident.

Aberdeen were showing more urgency now but the game was being slowed down by some erratic decisions. One such decision saw Mark Kerr booked in the 66th minute for a rather innocuous challenge. Aberdeen should have levelled in the 73rd minute when Mackie headed wide from 6 yards out after a de Visscher corner had caused panic in the home defence. Aberdeen were almost caught out three minutes later following a loose pass from de Visscher. Langfield spilled the ball and Diamond was forced to boot the ball clear.

The game was put out of the Dons reach in the 78th minute when Offiong was allowed to waltz through the Dons defence and lash the ball past Langfield. Maguire then replaced Kerr as Aberdeen attempted to get something from the game. A Severin shot was blocked in the 83rd minute and Maguire then screwed the rebound over the bar. Offiong almost made it 3-0 in the 87th minute but fired wide after beating Diamond. Goal hero Offiong was red carded in stoppage time after he kicked the ball away and received a second yellow card for his troubles. Possibly the flu virus sweeping Pittodrie had taken its toll on the players, but this certainly wasn’t the performance of recent weeks by a tired looking Dons side.

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