Aberdeen 1-1 Livingston: Points shared at Pittodrie as Sibbald cancels out McGinn opener

Aberdeen's Max Lowe competes with Chris Erskine. Picture: SNS Group

Hot on the heels of their creditable draw with Celtic and Scottish Cup win over Rangers, the Dons were out of the traps quickly but ultimately had to wait until the half-hour for Niall McGinn’s opener.

Rather than build on that, they allowed Craig Sibbald a leveller before half-time and were unable to get ahead again in the second period.

It had been a bright start for the Dons, with their early pressure making it seem the opening goal would be quick in coming.

However, despite a McGinn corner narrowly evading the head of Dominic Ball, and then a Graeme Shinnie shot being saved by Liam Kelly in the opening five minutes, it was half an hour in before the home side broke the deadlock.

Connor McLennan, the Dons’ teenage winger, was a constant threat and after he had beaten left-back Ciaron Brown, he saw his initial cross blocked but the second attempt found McGinn who hooked home a volley from the penalty spot.

Sam Cosgrove’s excellent hold-up play gave McLennan the opportunity to double the advantage six minutes later, but his angled drive was beaten away by Kelly.

Livingston are always a threat from set-plays, though, and they fired a warning shot when Alan Lithgow’s throw saw Declan Gallagher shoot from the edge of the area, with Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis getting down low to his right to save.

Cosgrove saw a first-time left-footed effort go wide from a Max Lowe cross as Aberdeen sought a more convincing margin, but the visitors were to draw level before the break.

Again it was a set-piece that caused problems, Keaghan Jacobs’ delivery turned across goal by captain Craig Halkett, and Sibbald was on hand to apply the finishing touch from close range.

They had the ball in the net again through Gallagher moments after the restart, but the offside flag kept the scores level.

The game then settled into something of a holding pattern, though the home side looked the more likely to grab a winner, pushing forward more and more as the clock ticked down towards full-time.

Despite introducing forwards Greg Stewart and James Wilson from the bench, though, they did not do enough to earn the points and suffered a sixth straight home league game without a win.