match report

The Dons made three changes to the side that drew with Dunfermline last week. Craig Brown dropped David Gonzalez and Jason Brown was given a chance to show what he could do in goal. Ryan Jack did not recover from the injury he picked up in training and was replaced by Rory McArdle and fit again Scott Vernon came in for Josh Magennis.

The Dons lined up in a 4-1-3-2 formation with Osbourne sitting in front of the back four. Once again this week the game was played in difficult conditions. Heavy rain had meant the underfoot conditions were very soft and there was also a swirling wind for the players to deal with.

In the opening minutes the conditions seemed to affect Scott Vernon. After a good passing move, a good ball by Milsom found Vernon. He took the ball to the by-line but as he looked up to see who he could pick out in the box his mishit the ball and it trundled out of play. Slight embarrassing for the big striker! I think even he could see the funny side of it.

However it was no laughing matter when the conditions also played apart as Kilmarnock took an early lead on only four minutes. It was another shockingly soft goal to concede. A long kick out by Cammy Bell hung up in the wind. Andrew Considine got rather underneath it and struggled to control the situation. He tried to play it back to Jason Brown. Brown appeared to tell the defender to clear it but Andrew elected to head the ball back and the twp of them got in a mix up. The ball never reached Brown as it fell short and Harkins, who deserves credit for putting pressure on, showed composure to put the ball into the empty net.

The goal seemed to deflate Aberdeen and it took them time to get back into the game.

On 10 minutes a Fyvie put in a deep cross which was well held by Bell. Fyvie was seeing quite a bit of the ball in dangerous places but his final ball was letting him down. Fyvie, Milsom and Clark, the midfield three seemed to swapping positions and have the freedom to get forward to support the front two. Fyvie in particular was tasked with getting forward.

McArdle did well to win Aberdeen’s first corner on 15 minutes. However Kilmarnock dealt well with it, as they did with all Aberdeen’s set pieces during the first half.

A few minutes later Foster’s excellent cross hit Vernon and looped up for Bell to catch easily. Vernon did not know much about it. Foster’s pace created the chance. It was only Foster who looked like creating a chance all afternoon.

Bell then did well to deal with a Fyvie corner. Like so often this season the Dons were now dominating possession but lack any real cutting edge. Fallon and Vernon were causing problems but they were not getting any good service.

On 32 minutes slack play the back again from Aberdeen gave Dean Shiels a good opportunity but he curled his shot straight into Brown’s arms. Then on 35 minutes Fallon and Vernon linked up to almost create an opportunity for Milsom but just as the midfielder was away to gather the ball in the box the defender got a vital foot in. Then just before the break McArdle was put in down the right by Fyvie but his cross went just over the bar. Poor delivery when the right back was in a good position. About summed up the half.

Aberdeen started the second half strongly.

Vernon did well to win a free kick when he had nothing on. Fyvie took it and played in a great ball and Fallon was inches away from getting a touch. McArdle then won Aberdeen another corner which the home side failed to deal with but just scrambled clear.McArdle then hit a great shot from about 20 yards which was tipped over by Bell. The Dons forced a couple more corners which the home defence again struggled to deal with. This was much better.

A storm then came through that made it almost impossible for either team to play. It also seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Dons as they never really looked like scoring after that. Foster put in another good cross and Clark came in at the back post but the wind took the ball away from him.

At this stage it was all Aberdeen and Killie were quite happy just to try and play on the break

On the hour mark Josh Magennis replaced Scott Vernon. The Red Army did not seem very impressed to see Scott going off. Straight away Josh was involved and forced a free kick from Fowler who was booked. Good direct play from the Northern Irishman, something that had been missing. The free kick was in good position but Fyvie hit the ball against the wall.

Then on 64 minutes it was game over as the Dons gave away another soft goal. A simple one two played in Dayton down the right. He had the pace to beat Considine. The substitute has the sense to cut in front of the defender so he could not make a challenge. He then poked it past Brown as the keeper came out. A good finish. The Aberdeen bench felt the player was offside but it looked as though he had timed his run perfectly.

Aberdeen responded when a fantastic Foster cross deserved a goal. Fallon throw himself at it but could not get a touch. Again Foster was the only outlet for the Dons all afternoon. Foster was then booked for foul on Dayton. The home fans through it should have been a red card for a professional foul but the incident was inside the Kilmarnock half so it can hardly have been a clear goal scoring opportunity.

With 10 minutes left Pawlett replaced McArdle and Fallon was replaced Megginson. The Dons kept the same shape with Clark moving to right back. Aberdeen came back last week to close a two goal deficit. They never looked like doing it this week. The final few minutes were extremely scrappy as the pitch got churned up. Both teams were just going through the motions.