Aberdeen 2-2 Dundee United: Dons come back from the dead

Published on Saturday 20 March 2010 20:11

Aberdeen 2 Diamond 32; Paton 45 pen Dundee United 2 Daly 8, 25

TWO goals down, playing dreadful stuff on a threadbare Pittodrie surface and looking dead and buried, Aberdeen came back bravely to snatch a point and might well have won it at the end when they laid siege to the visitors' goal without success.

Nevertheless, if a team goes many matches without losing we speak of an unbeaten run, so Aberdeen are on an unwinning streak of eleven, their longest since 1927. Manager Mark McGhee is promising better stuff next term – he will need it, as supporters may share his pleasure at yesterday's result but will demand more in future.

The first half hour was almost ridiculously one sided, especially considering that Aberdeen were the home team. United did nothing flamboyant – they did not need to, as they were facing a team bereft of confidence and ideas.

The visitors dominated play from the outset, with Aberdeen's few forays forward ending in misplaced passes. United by contrast, concentrated on direct play through their danger men on the wings, Craig Conway and Danny Swanson, while Morgaro Gomis and Jon Daly profited in the middle.

The latter put his side ahead after only eight minutes by beating Zander Diamond on the turn after a touch in a suspiciously offside position by David Goodwillie. The speed of Daly's movement deceived the rest of the Aberdeen defence and gave him just enough space to hammer the ball behind Jamie Langfield from the edge of the box.

The striker could have made it two a few minutes later, but his left-foot shot whistled by the post. He was not to be denied, however, and after 25 minutes, Conway flighted in a free kick and Daly headed home from the sort of space you find only in deserts.

Conway was next up for United, but his shot went wide, while Aberdeen were reduced to shooting from long range, Charlie Mulgrew firing in a curling effort from open play that slid past Dusan Pernis' left-hand post just a minute before the same player hit a sweet free kick from what is now known as "Mulgrew territory" past the same post.

At that point you would have given the kind of long odds that bookmakers have been enjoying all week at Cheltenham on Aberdeen making any sort of showing in this match, but quite incredibly, they were level at half time.

"Two-nil down, and on the back of the run we are on, and at home against our local rivals, it took a tremendous attitude for the players not to lose the place completely," said McGhee afterwards.

Not only did they keep their heads, Aberdeen struck back. In the 32nd minute, United conceded a free kick and this time Mulgrew contented himself with sending in a swerving cross that was met on the rush by Zander Diamond. The ball was behind Pernis before the goalkeeper had time to react.

The loss of Jim Paterson through injury curtailed his activities against his former club and brought Davide Grassi onto the pitch, the Italian going to left back and bringing a better shape to the Dons – "he was terrific," said McGhee.

He soon made his mark on the match. With Aberdeen playing more committed football, they pressed United in injury time at the end of the half. Grassi sent a ball down the left to Sone Aluko and his cross found Stuart Duff who was felled by Sean Dillon. "Honestly, the goal grew bigger as I ran up to take it," said Michael Paton, who smashed the penalty low past Pernis for the equaliser.

The second half was topsy-turvy and often end-to-end stuff.

Daly missed the best chance of the half after 67 minutes when Goodwillie played him through and the ball bobbled so that the hat-trick seeker's shot lost power.

Two minutes later Garry Kenneth headed the ball into the Aberdeen net but the assistant referee's flag had been raised before he even jumped.

There were few clear-cut chances after that, but the better opportunities fell to Aberdeen who mounted a last-gasp effort to gain three points, denied by a combination of their own poor finishing and United's solid defending.

United manager Peter Houston said: "We started magnificently well on a very poor pitch, but maybe a wee bit of complacency set in."

MAN OF THE MATCH

Garry Kenneth was a tower of strength, Stuart Duff did a power of work but Zander Diamond's wholehearted commitment inspired Aberdeen. He gets the nod.

QUICK FACT

There was a minute's applause before the match for Alec Young, a member of Aberdeen's 1955 league-winning side, later manager of Ross County, who died recently.

TALKING POINT

Mark McGhee's programme notes: "I remain determined to impose my ideas and regime here at Aberdeen... the amount of criticism in the past month has steeled me to do everything I can to turn it around... "