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Dons Leave It Late....

06 February 2011

…as Buddies up next.

Today’s cup tie disappointed at Pittodrie, but a dramatic finale saw Aberdeen ease through to an away tie with St. Mirren in the quarter final. There were very few clear cut chances created in the 90 minutes although Aberdeen did enjoy the bulk of the possession. For the second match running Aberdeen lost two players to injury as Milsom went off early with a leg injury then Blackman was forced off after a nasty kick in the shin that somehow did not merit a caution. With the match looking as if it would be heading for a replay Maguire worked his way down the right and swung in a cross that the keeper could only get a palm to. With Vernon sliding in the ball came off the keeper, hit the unfortunate McGregor and ended up in the net.

Aberdeen were first to show as Maguire broke on the right and drilled a ball across the face of the goal. Unfortunately there was no support and the chance was lost. Two minutes later Jack supplied the ammunition, but again there were no takers. After a nervous start the Pars won a free kick 30 yards out and when the ball was half cleared Kirk collected and fire the ball inches wide with the Dons defence claiming offside. Milsom then collected a knock and after extensive treatment he limped back to the dressing room with only eight minutes on the clock.

Young replaced him and a minute later Maguire was blocked, but neither the referee nor his assistant was interested. A good passing move two minutes later looked promising, but Smith fluffed his cross. In the 12th minute Smith fell awkwardly, but fortunately he was able to continue and a minute later Maguire forced the first corner, but Allison was able to claim the ball. Aberdeen were unlucky not to take the lead in the 15th minute when Hartley found Vernon and the striker lobbed the ball over the bar after a great first touch.

A long range effort from Graham failed to test Langfield before Dunfermline won their first corner of the match. They failed to threaten, but a second corner quickly followed and Aberdeen broke quickly although a Smith shot was blocked. In the 22nd minute Maguire had a glimpse of goal, but the referee saw an infringement and halted play. The visitor’s won another corner a minute later and again Aberdeen broke quickly. This move ended with Vernon heading a McArdle cross over the bar. The play quickly moved to the other end where Vujadinovic conceded another corner.

Diamond was caught late as Aberdeen attempted to break again. Another chance was then carved out as Vernon headed a Maguire cross straight into the arms of the keeper. Young won the ball inside the Dunfermline box, but hit neither a cross or shot and the ball went tamely out for a goal kick. Good build up play around the half hour mark failed to produce a finish for the Dons as some sloppy play started to creep in. Jack had a decent effort from 20 yards that Allison took two attempts to control. At the other end the Pars won their fifth corner.

Again the visitor’s failed to threaten as the tie went into a lull. In the 44th minute Young went for a shot from 20 yards and was clipped from behind, but the official saw nothing wrong. Seconds later a Maguire effort was blocked by Vernon. Aberdeen were finishing the half strongly and in the final seconds they forced a corner and Vernon headed over as the half came to an end. An increase in the work rate is required after the break.

It was an untidy start to the second half with passes going astray, but in the 51st minute Blackman had a crack at goal and his effort went wide. A minute later the striker took a nasty kick on the shin, but no card was shown to Woods although the free kick was awarded. The ball was played short, but Maguire’s shot was blocked. Blackman unsurprisingly failed to recover from what was a poor challenge and after a long delay Pawlett replaced the striker in the 56th minute.

Aberdeen had a lot of possession at this stage, but were unable to carve out any chances as Dunfermline defended well. A Young effort failed to threaten the keeper in the 62nd minute and two minutes later Maguire had a great effort from 25 yards that went inches over. That livened up the crowd and in the 66th minute good build up play ended disappointingly as an ambitious Young pass was intercepted. Maguire was starting to cause problems and a decent cross a minute later was not attacked in the middle.

At the other and the Aberdeen defence backed off allowing Kirk to have a shot at goal and Langfield was forced into a great save to tip the ball over. At the other end Maguire had a glimpse at goal, but a strong challenge from Keddie denied him before the two were involved in a tussle. In the 74th minute a Smith cross failed to find a red shirt as Aberdeen looked to try and win the tie. A corner followed a minute later and a second quickly followed with Vujadinovic failing to convert as he steered the ball wide.

With ten minutes remaining a long free kick just evaded Maguire and a minute later Magennis replaced Jack. Langfield got away with a poor clearance then Pawlett was unlucky as he got on the end of a Magennis cross, but had his shot blocked on the penalty spot. The resulting corner was headed inches wide by Diamond as Aberdeen built up the pressure. Another corner followed in the 86th minute and a goalmouth scramble ended with the keeper claiming the ball.

The keeper claimed a Smith cross a minute later as Aberdeen desperately tried to avoid a replay. Maguire forced another corner in the last minute and looked to have secured a second until the assistant awarded a goal kick. In the first minute of injury time Maguire found Vernon, but the striker failed to control the ball and it bounced off his shin and went wide. The match then had a twist in the tail in the final minute when Maguire worked his way down the right and swung in a cross that the keeper could only get a palm to. With Vernon sliding in the ball came off the keeper, hit the unfortunate McGregor and ended up in the net.

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