Aberdeen 4 - 0 Dunfermline: Friday night’s a winner for Dons

For Craig Brown, the Dons manager, it was the night that saw all his work come together as he even he must have wondered when the next victory would come.

And, at a time when his side had failed miserably in front of goal, Scott Vernon stepped up to hit a hat-trick as the home side toyed with the men from Fife, unable to threaten, save for two shots during the entire match.

Indeed, had it not been for Paul Gallacher, the Pars goalkeeper, and the woodwork that framed him, the Pittodrie side might have run up four or five more goals, so much in command were they.

There was nothing experimental about Aberdeen’s stunning opener, Brown’s pre-match demands that they repay the home supporters for their loyalty in what has been an almost traumatic start to the season, perhaps still occupying the players’ minds.

Certainly, the enthusiastic embryonic phase was more than hopeful for the Dons, Rob Milsom’s inviting ball across goal being booted out for a corner kick by Austin McCann as Vernon failed by a few inches to connect.

The big striker, however, the club’s top scorer last season with 16 goals, delivered in the fifth minute, his header from Richard Foster’s cross from the eft bulleting into the net as flapped a fresh air.

A little later, Rory Fallon, preferred as Vernon’s striker partner, saw his downwards header touched clear by Gallacher, whose agility was called upon soon after as he touched Kari Arnason’s effort over the bar, moves that highlighted how much in control were the home side during this phase of the game.

And, if the Fifers’ keeper felt the need to emphasise his talent, he was offered the opportunity with two exciting efforts from Aberdeen on the half-hour mark.

First, he executed a stupendous save as Foster once more fed Vernon, who again met the cross with his head. Then, seconds later, Foster, running riot down the left, this time found Milsom, but his volley was stopped in stunning style by Gallacher.

The tempo set by the Pittodrie side was impressive and the visitors clearly found their pace difficult to cope with. Was this the same Dons side languishing near the bottom of the SPL and drilled out of the Scottish Communities League Cup by second division East Fife?

Vernon provided the answer to that question in the 34th minute with another header that proved too much for Gallacher. It was fashioned from Arnason’s chip across goal, Youl Mawene’s header on towards the back post where the former Colchester United front man lay in wait to complete the manoeuvre.

Ten minutes later, the tall Englishman displayed his willingness to provide for his team-mates, nodding the ball down for Fraser Fyvie in the area and pleased that the teenager had the presence of mind to swivel and beat Gallacher from 15 yards to send the home side into the break on a high.

The mountain was there for the Pars to climb, but even they must have been aware it was too much of a task, and when Milsom’s 20-yard free kick rattled the crossbar, the apprehension in the Dunfermline dugout was palpable. From where would a recovery emerge? It is doubtful if even Jim McIntyre, their manager, had the answer to that query, especially when Arnason cracked a 12-yard effort off the post just after an hour had been played and Fallon fired the ball high as the rebound came to him.

This was little short of a free-for-all as Aberdeen player after player lined up to test Gallacher, with no resistance from the keeper’s defensive colleagues.

He stopped blistering strikes from Fyvie and Vernon before the latter secured his hat-trick ten minutes from the end, this time effecting an opportunist goal to pounce after Mohamed Chalali’s long-range shot cracked off Gallacher’s left-hand post. If Brown was pleased at the end of 90 pulsating minutes, McIntyre will be wondering how to resurrect a Dunfermline team which showed nothing of note and an inability to recover from Aberdeen’s impressive start, one they were able to maintain throughout the game.

For Brown Friday night football was a success, though he would be happy to play games on any day, as long as his side could guarantee this kind of performance.

Aberdeen: Gonzalez, Jack (Clark 81), Mawene, Considine, Foster, Fyvie (Pawlett 77), Arnason, Osbourne, Milsom, Vernon, Fallon (Chalali 71). Subs not used: Brown, McArdle, Mackie, Magennis.

Dunfermline: Gallacher, Potter, Keddie, Dowie (Kirk 39), Graham, Jason Thomson, Burns, Mason (Cardle 60), McCann, Easton (Ryan Thomson 66), Barrowman. Subs not used: Smith, Boyle, Willis, Byrne.