…as Dons fight back.

After a low key first forty five minutes the second half produced a couple of goals as the teams shared the points. Aberdeen had started the half well and appeared to be taking control when the home side grabbed the lead. Paixao did the damage when he headed an Easton corner past Langfield in the 62nd minute. Zander Diamond, celebrating his 200th appearance for the club, was the Dons hero when he levelled in the 76th minute. Mulgrew played a short free kick to Maclean and he found Diamond in the box where he produced a left foot strike to beat Cerny in the Hamilton goal.

Aberdeen were first to show as Young swung in a cross in the first minute, but Cerny gathered comfortably. There was little to note in the opening five minutes with neither side able to create anything of note. The home side then won the opening corner in the sixth minute and Langfield comfortably claimed the ball before quickly releasing Aluko who in turn was controversially flagged offside. Hamilton then forced a second corner in the 8th minute and Langfield only half-cleared the delivery, but redeemed himself with a fine save to his right as the ball was fired back in.

Hamilton had made the better start but in the 11th minute the Dons created their first chance when Maclean found Paton with a cut back, but the youngster ballooned the ball over the bar. Aberdeen won a free kick in the 15th minute and as Mulgrew swung the ball into the box the assistant referee flagged for the umpteenth time. Two minutes later Hamilton went close when Easton found Paixao in the centre, but the striker was unable to reach the ball. A third corner kick for the home team was comfortably dealt with by Langfield, but Hamilton were enjoying the best of the play at this stage.

Aluko was starting to cause problems as he beat his man and delivered a decent cross that was cleared by Paixao. Hamilton won another corner kick in the 29th minute and Langfield appeared to take a knock as he went for the ball. A second corner followed, but Aberdeen were able to clear and a minute later Foster did well, but his cross was scrambled clear. Derek Young collected the first caution of the match in the 31st minute when he unceremoniously tripped Imrie.

Maclean won a free kick in the 34th minute, but the Dons failed to threaten after a blatant block on Young was ignored and the home side broke to win their sixth corner. An infringement ended that particular threat, but two minutes later McArthur hit the side netting as Aberdeen were coming under increasing pressure. At the other end Maclean and Paton linked well to set up McDonald, but Cerny did well to snuff out the danger. Paixao won a very soft free kick in the 39th minute but his chip was claimed by Langfield.

His quick delivery found Paton who was brought down in Charlie Mulgrew territory leading to two cautions for Hamilton. Mulgrew then stepped up and forced Cerny into a fine save as he turned the ball round the post for the Dons first corner of the match. Unfortunately that came to nothing as the match meandered towards the half time interval. A minute before the break Hamilton won a free kick in a dangerous position, but the effort was poor and sailed well wide. In the dying seconds Aluko lost van Zanten and the Hamilton man headed wide.

After the break Aberdeen moved forward and immediately won a couple of corners. Unfortunately they were unable to break through, but the Dons had made a positive start to the second half as play moved from one end to the other. Aberdeen won another corner in the 52nd minute when a Mulgrew shot was deflected wide. The ball was half cleared and as Mulgrew looked to return the ball, Easton handled although no award was forthcoming. A couple of minutes later Maclean got behind the defence, but there were no takers when he swung in his cross.

Paton went very close in the 57th minute as he cut inside and hit a fierce shot that went inches wide of the target. Antoine-Curier replaced van Zanten on the hour mark as Billy Reid tried to turn the tide. The crowd was announced and it was a disappointing 2,030 paying fans. Just as Aberdeen looked to have taken control the home side won their first corner of the second half and took the lead with 62 minutes on the clock. Easton swung the ball into the danger area and Paixao bulleted a header into the net from six yards. Aberdeen tried to hit back immediately and it took a great blocking tackle from Canning to deny McDonald.

Aberdeen were showing an urgency now and a collision between Diamond and Imrie saw the Dons defender collect a yellow card. Mackie replaced Young in the 72nd minute as Aberdeen had once again slipped out of the game. There were loud appeals for a spot kick in the 76th minute as Imrie went down inside the Dons box. The referee waved play on and as Aluko broke towards goal he was cynically taken down by Canning. The Hamilton man earned a caution and from the free kick Aberdeen levelled.

Mulgrew played it short to Maclean and he found Diamond in the box as the defender celebrated his 200th appearance with a sweet left foot strike that beat Cerny. Mulgrew wasted a free kick opportunity in the 81st minute with a poor delivery while at the other end Antoine-Curier was flagged offside as he fired a shot in on goal. Paton released Mackie in the 84th minute and as he squared the ball to Maclean a last ditch tackle forced a corner. From the set play McDonald sent a tame header towards goal while at the other end Paixao was lucky to avoid a caution when he took a blatant dive inside the box.

With five minutes remaining both sides were going for the win and in the 87th minute Imrie found Paixao and the striker fired over. Megginson then made his SPL debut when he replaced Aluko. A minute later Hamilton won another corner and the ball was half cleared. When it was returned the ball was turned wide from an offside position. Worryingly no flag went up. Aberdeen then forced their own corner in the 90th minute, but the over protected keeper was awarded a soft free kick as the ball was delivered. Three minutes of injury time was shown and in that third minute Maclean was flagged offside after starting a run from his own half as the match ended in a draw.