Fraser gives Dons the spark

The Dons recorded their first win of the season with a stylish performance at McDiarmid Park as goals from Osbourne and Hayes secured the points before Hassselbaink pulled one back for Saints late on. The scoreline flattered the Perth side with the Dons dominating possession and creating chances a plenty.

Craig Brown made one change from the side that drew with Ross County last weekend, with Niall McGinn missing out through injury Ryan Fraser was handed his first start for the Dons.

Aberdeen lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with Vernon up top supported by Hayes and Fraser. Fraser’s direct running caused the Saints defence all sorts of problems and led to the Dons taking the lead on the 16 minute mark. Fraser’s cross was helped on by Vernon and Osbourne made no mistake as he drilled the ball into the back of the net.

Fraser almost helped Aberdeen to double their lead 5 minutes later but the home side managed to clear after the ball had zipped across the goalmouth. The Dons couldn’t add to their lead before the break but took only 2 minutes into the second half to go two up. Jonny Hayes scored his first league goal for the club capitalising on a bizarre defensive mix up as neither keeper or defender wanted to clear leaving Hayes to capitalise and put the ball into the net.

Vernon looked to have wrapped up the points when he bulleted a header after 57 minutes but the linesman had his flag up for offside. There was concern for the Dons fans on the hour mark when Russell Anderson had to be replaced by Mark Reynolds. The captain looked to have taken an elbow in the face but the referee and linesman missed it.

The Dons should have had a penalty after 75 minutes. Good work for Hayes on the edge of the box lead to his shot coming back off the post the ball fell to Vernon and his shot was clearly handled on the line but the referee and linesman also missed this.

Vernon had the ball in the net again but was once again ruled offside. The big striker tucked away Ryan Fraser’s free kick but the linesman’s flag was once again raised. Hassselbaink pulled a goal back late on to give us a nervous last couple of minutes but the Dons held on for a well-deserved 3 points. The Dons season is well and truly up and running.

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