ABERDEEN 2 DUNDEE UNITED 2
SPFL Premiership
Sunday 2nd March 2025
Pittodrie
Ref: Don Robertson
Attendance: 17,862
A dramatic comeback from Aberdeen, inspired by two late goals from Kevin Nisbet, salvaged a late draw as the Dons showed great second half character after trailing to Dundee United for much of the game.
After defeat at Celtic Park on Tuesday, Jimmy Thelin made three changes to the Aberdeen starting XI, with Dimitar Mitov, Ante Palaversa and Pape Gueye returning to the side in place of Ross Doohan, Graeme Shinnie and Oday Dabbagh, who were all on the bench. Back among the subs after injury was Dante Polvara. Sivert Heltne Nilsen skippered the side.
Dundee United lost 3-1 at home to Hibs on Wednesday, and also made three changes with Kristijan Trapanovski, Craig Sibbald and Glenn Middleton in at the expense of Emmanuel Adegboyega, Will Ferry and Ruari Paton.
Pittodrie was bathed in sunshine as the game got underway, the Dons being able to dominate territorially early on, particularly down the left, without quite fashioning a clear chance. Gueye and Gallagher collided awkwardly in the 10th minute, Gallagher coming off worst with a hefty blow that saw him go down and require treatment in the 16th minute.
The break worked wonders for the visitors, who got the breakthrough on 20 minutes. United won a corner on their right, the ball sailing to the back post where Sevelj was unchallenged to head into the ground, up and over Mitov and into the net.
Topi Keskinen led the charge to get back into the game, getting in behind and forcing a corner four minutes later, but United cleared their lines, Gallagher crumpling to the ground again in the aftermath. This time, he was replaced by Adegboyega. Kristers Tobers was next to need treatment after falling awkwardly on halfway after 29 minutes.
It was pinball in the United box on 33, the Dons producing a neat move involving Alexander Jensen and Kevin Nisbet before both Keskinen and Palaversa had shots blocked. From Palaversa’s corner, Mats Knoester powered a header just over the bar.
Tobers went down again in the 40th minute and, as at Celtic in midweek, he was replaced by Alfie Dorrington. The Dons had barely had chance to reorganise when it was, seemingly, 2-0 to United. Middleton looped the ball into the box from 40 yards out, Adeboyega cushioned it down to Sevelj who mishit his shot at goal, the ball cannoning into Adeboyega and bouncing in. Fortunately for the Dons, Adeboyega was ruled offside by VAR and the hosts escaped. Adeboyega had insult heaped onto that injury in the 45th, booked for handling the ball.
But United were not to be denied and in the ninth minute of added time, Dalby doubled the lead. A short corner routine seemed to have petered out, but the ball went back out to Trapanovski who curled in a cross, Dalby getting up to place a glancing header across the face of goal and into the far corner.
HALF-TIME: ABERDEEN 0 DUNDEE UNITED 2
Dabbagh and Shinnie were introduced for the home side at the interval, Jeppe Okkels and Jack MacKenzie replaced.
It was a swift start to the half, Jensen slinging in a dangerous cross after 20 seconds, Graham heading behind for a corner, but Shinnie’s delivery was hooked clear. Keskinen did likewise, winning another corner, four minutes later as Aberdeen upped the tempo.
A brilliant run from Keskinen took him past three challenges in the 51st minute, but his cutback was behind Gueye who could only stretch to make any contact and stabbed the ball wide as a result.
A long ball forward from Keskinen had Gueye on the chase in the 55th minute but Walton was swiftly off his line to mop up, some 25 yards out. Leighton Clarkson replaced Palaversa immediately afterwards.
Trapanovski created an opening for himself on the hour, a clever turn taking him into space at inside-right before firing a dangerous shot across the face of goal and just wide. That was his last action of the day, replaced by Fotheringham on 63. The Dons made their final change at the same time, Shayden Morris coming on for Gueye.
Jensen picked up a loose ball from an Aberdeen cross a minute later, but his shot squirted away wide of the goal, Walton still without a save to make. There was another change from the visitors after 68 minutes with van der Sande joining the action in place of Sibbald. The Dons had United penned into their own final third by now, but a chance would not come as we entered the final 20 minutes.
It was the visitors who came closest on 72, Campbell’s shot, that was flying wide, thumping off Shinnie and looping just wide of the target. Before the corner, Strain was booked for time wasting, then the delivery was wasted too.
A Clarkson corner on 74 looked as if it might create something as the ball bounced around but once again, the Dons could not produce anything decisive from it. Finally, a minute later, they did, Nisbet collecting a pass from Jensen, controlling it immediately and finding a precise finish across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner from 16 yards out. Game back on.
Knoester was teed up for a hit somewhere near McKenna territory on 84, his shot deflected over the bar for a corner. Morris was booked a minute later for a foul on Middleton.
United could have sealed it on 88 with a break down the right, a cross from van der Sande finding Fotheringham eight yards out, but he looped his header up onto the roof of the net.
As we headed into four added minutes, the Dons made their pressure pay and levelled it up, Nisbet the man in the right place at the moment, ghosting in at the back stick to get on the end of Jensen’s curling cross to jab the ball over the line, a lovely, neat finish with Nisbet not put off by the cross taking a nick off Knoester as it came through. Pittodrie didn’t quite go berserk, but it was certainly well chuffed.
ABERDEEN: Mitov, Jensen, Tobers (Dorrington 41), Knoester, MacKenzie (Shinnie 46), Heltne Nilsen, Palaversa (Clarkson 56), Okkels (Dabbagh 46), Keskinen, Gueye (Morris 63), Nisbet.
Subs not used: Doohan, Polvara, Ambrose, Boyd.
GOALS: Nisbet (75, 90+1)
BOOKED: Morris
DUNDEE UNITED: Walton, Strain, Gallagher (Adegboyega 26), Graham, Sibbald (van der Sande 68), Stephenson, Middleton, Sevelj, Trapanovski (Fotheringham 63), Campbell, Dalby.
Subs not used: Richards, Fiorini, Babunski, Paton, Cleall-Harding.
GOALS: Sevelj (20), Dalby (45+9)
BOOKED: Adegboyega, Strain
