Dunfermline 1 - 1 Aberdeen: Flying Phinn strikes late to earn a replay at Pittodrie

Published on Sunday 8 March 2009 22:03

ALTHOUGH Aberdeen might have booked a place in the semi-finals of the Homecoming Scottish Cup at the first time of asking after seizing the lead through Sone Aluko, by some distance the tie's most ebullient player, Dunfermline's gritty resistance over the course of 90 minutes merited a second chance in a replay at Pittodrie next week.

On a chilly afternoon in Fife when a blustery wind and a bumpy pitch did little to encourage creativity, Aluko was Aberdeen's diamond in the rocks. He should have given the visitors the lead before half-time when he ran on to Derek Young's header and a snap shot was blocked. While he did well to stay on his feet, the winger was even more unfortunate not to earn his side a penalty for a blatant pull on the back of his jersey. Since Calum Woods clearly tried to prevent a goalscoring opportunity, the defender was blessed that referee Craig Thomson missed the incident.

Aluko's willingness to run at defenders had also earned Aberdeen a chance from a free-kick. After Stephen Glass was booked for hacking him down, Charlie Mulgrew forced the best save of the opening 45 minutes from Paul Gallacher. The Dunfermline goalkeeper did well to tip the full-back's swerving shot over the bar.

Once Jimmy Calderwood had tweaked his formation at the start of the second half, Aberdeen were far better equipped to compete with the three men Dunfermline deployed in central midfield. Having established a more secure foothold, it was a moment of rare quality from Aluko and Young which gave the visitors the lead.

Young had showed a wonderful touch in controlling a long ball before ghosting clear of a defender and slipping a short pass in front of Aluko. The winger took one touch, strode into the box and fired an angled left-foot shot which sped past Gallacher into the corner of the net.

It was a goal worthy of winning such a hard-fought quarter-final. "I definitely thought that would be enough to win it," said the English youth internationalist. "We were quite comfortable at 1-0 and spent a lot of the early part of the second period in their half. Maybe we should have capitalised more on the chances we created. If we can play for 90 minutes in the replay the way we did at that stage then we can make it into the semi-finals."

Aluko was part of the Aberdeen side which lost to Queen of the South in the semi-finals of the competition last year. While the former Birmingham player knows the SPL side need to be wary of challenges from teams in lower leagues, he's reluctant to dwell too much on bad memories in case past disappointment has a negative impact on current ambitions. "Losing to Queen of the South, and dropping to the bottom of the league at the start of this season, have been the low points of my career so far," added the 20-year-old. "We're an ambitious bunch of lads and, regardless of what happened last year, we want to get to the final."

As Calderwood acknowledged later, that did not look too likely for long stretches of the first half when Nick Phinn, Stephen Glass and Alex Burke held the upper hand in midfield. Twice Dunfermline created decent chances which were squandered. From Glass' corner, the unmarked Phinn thrashed a wild volley over the bar. And Graham Bayne's glancing header after good work down the left from Jamie Mole edged a foot wide of the post.

Aberdeen might have done enough in 25 minutes or so of dominance after the interval to clinch the bout. But Jim McIntyre's men came off the ropes to land a few counter-punches of their own. Phinn caused Aberdeen problems throughout the tie with the timing of his runs into the box. When he pulled off the trick at a corner for a second time, adding a forceful header to Glass' astute delivery, it took a fine save from Jamie Langfield to prevent the equaliser.

The introduction of Andy Kirk and the switching of Mole to the right side of Dunfermline's attack eventually paid off eight minutes from the end when the on-loan Hearts forward exposed Mulgrew's defensive shortcomings. Composed in possession with a wonderful gift at set-pieces, Mulgrew has yet to master the black arts of defence.

Once he'd shown Mole inside, it was Mulgrew's responsibility to either tackle the forward or block his shot. The full-back did neither and Mole was able to connect with a low shot which Langfield spilled into the path of Kirk. The striker's scuffed effort was probably heading wide before Phinn arrived at the back post to scramble the ball over the line.

"The game was slipping away from us at 1-0," recalled Greg Shields. "Aluko was causing us a problem and Aberdeen were getting in behind us. After that it was more end to end and, if you look at the chances created, 1-1 was a fair result. I was pleased with our performance but would understand if our supporters wondered why we can play like that against Aberdeen, but not against sides like Clyde and Airdrie United in the First Division."

Phinn reckoned the explanation for that paradox lay in the extra time there was to play football against SPL opposition. "You get a bit more time on the ball that lets you play," he said. "In the First Division there's maybe not as much (time], I think it suited us to play a bit more football."

MAN OF THE MATCH

Sone Aluko (Aberdeen)

While there was a strong case to be made for Nick Phinn's irrepressible display in Dunfermline's midfield, Aluko added a welcome touch of class to the proceedings. The winger's combination of courage, pace and an eye for goal could yet take Aberdeen back to Hampden.