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Stalemate At Pittodrie

29 August 2009

Grassi makes debut.

 

Following a poor first half Aberdeen improved after the break, but couldn’t find a way past an organised Motherwell defence. The visitors had enjoyed the advantage in the first half and substitute Sutton went close with two headers. Aberdeen took control after the break and Aluko, Paton and Mulgrew all looked lively. Despite creating plenty chances the Motherwell defence stood firm and the Dons had to settle for a share of the spoils.

Motherwell kicked off in a sun drenched Pittodrie and it took Sone Aluko only two minutes to trouble the visiting defence before he was taken down by Hately. Mulgrew swung the subsequent free kick into the danger area and when the ball was half cleared Kerr fired in a low shot that went wide of the target. Aluko was certainly in the mood and three minutes later he played a neat one-two with Mackie on the edge of the box before losing control with the goal in sight.

Ruddy made a comfortable catch in the seventh minute then three minutes later Motherwell had a muted claim for a spot kick as O’Brien went down easily under a challenge from Ifil. Motherwell won a free kick wide on the left, but the Dons defended comfortably before Langfield was quick off his line to end another attack. A Jutkiewicz header then caused Aberdeen problems as the Lanarkshire club started to take control.

Crawford collected the first yellow card of the game in the 20th minute for a challenge on O’Brien. A long free kick from Ifil was easily claimed by Ruddy, but in the 24th minute Aberdeen managed to release Aluko, but the Dons were unable to convert. Miller looked to have won the first corner of the match in the 26th minute but the assistant referee disagreed. A minute later the red army were looking for a spot kick when Ruddy knocked Mackie to the ground, but the award would have been soft.

Motherwell made a change on the half hour mark when Sutton replaced Hammell. Miller set up Fyvie in the 35th minute, but the youngster was challenged strongly and picked up a knock in the process. Two minutes later Darren Mackie won a corner, but Mulgrew failed to get the ball beyond the first defender. Motherwell won their own at the other end and Sutton headed inches wide. Two minutes before the interval Mackie collected a Miller flick before being crowded out by two defenders. In the final minute O’Brien went down very easily from a Mackie challenge and once again Sutton was given a free header that thankfully went over the bar.

Paton replaced the yellow carded Crawford at the interval and he carved out the first chance of the half when he collected a pass from Kerr and fired a dangerous ball across the goal. Unfortunately there were no takers and Motherwell raced up field and won a corner in the 47th minute that was dealt with by the Dons. The game was raging from end to end and both sides had half chances in the opening stages. Aberdeen were given a let off in the 50th minute when the whistle ended a dangerous attack by Motherwell.

Aluko eased the pressure in the 54th minute when he won a corner, but it failed to create an opening. Paton won a second corner a minute later but the move ended when Foster fired well over from distance, Paton then fired in a decent cross that found Aluko. Unfortunately his first touch let him down and the chance was gone. Aberdeen almost took advantage of some good play from Miller. His persistence kept the ball in play and set up Fyvie, but his cross went too deep. Aberdeen then struggled to clear their lines under pressure before an excellent shimmy from Paton set up a chance for Aluko.

Another good move produced another good chance but once again that final killer ball was missing as Foster delivered deep. Both sides were giving it a go now and surely a goal was bound to follow. Another corner from Mulgrew had the keeper in trouble and Fyvie had his effort blocked as the ball broke. Grassi made his Dons debut when he replaced Mackie in the 66th minute and Aberdeen went close two minutes later as good build up play set up Mulgrew on the left and his right foot curler went wide of the target.

A push on Fyvie was dismissed by the referee allowing Motherwell to break and win a corner. Fortunately nothing came of it. Controversy followed when Miller was the meat in the sandwich in the Motherwell box and the referee instantly dismissed the claim. It could have went either way, but the referee had a good view of the incident. Aberdeen were looking more potent now as they forced another corner in the 77th minute. The delivery from Mulgrew caused all sorts of problems as the ball was sliced away from another attempt. The move ended with Lee Miller heading over, but he had already been flagged offside.

Miller won another corner in the 80th minute and the Dons went close to taking the lead as Ruddy had to tip over after his defender almost headed into his own net. Aberdeen continued to pile on the pressure as they finished the game on top, but the Motherwell defence were standing firm as first Mulgrew then Aluko were denied. Lee Miller was then penalised for standing too close to a keeper who was clearly wasting time. The referee failed to blow his whistle until the ball went out of play then wasted more time as he ran half the length of the pitch to speak with the striker.

Two minutes of stoppage time was displayed before a Motherwell defender decided to lie down in his own penalty area to waste most of those two minutes. The stoppages had taken the momentum and cutting edge out of the Dons attack and the game ended 0-0.

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