Hibs 0-1 Aberdeen: Ross McCrorie pulls the strings for resurgent Dons

Lewis Ferguson penalty gives visitors all three points at Easter Road

Lewis Ferguson coolly converts his first-half penalty to give Aberdeen victory at Easter Road. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS

Aberdeen’s resurgence after the “coronavirus eight” continues. Since returning to action on 20 August following their octet’s ill-advised trip to a city-centre hotspot earlier in the month, they have taken maximum points from their three league matches and progressed in the Europa League. In defeating Hibs 1-0 at Easter Road and inflicting a first Premiership defeat on them, the Dons have cut the gap between the two to four points, holding two games in hand. Going into the international break, momentum for the “best of the rest” tag lies with Derek McInnes’ men.

Time is a great healer and it seems a lot of water has passed under the bridge since eight Aberdeen players had to self-isolate – two of whom had tested positive for Covid-19 – following a visit to a bar in the wake of losing to Rangers at the start of the month. The club and those eight, in particular, copped severe flak for their actions. The response on the pitch has been near perfect. Wins over St Johnstone, Livingston and Hibs domestically and last Thursday’s 6-0 triumph over NSI Runavik in the Europa League have followed.

In the context of this match, though, a gritty 1-0 win over Hibs was so important. Jack Ross’ men will be a direct challenger for the European spots this season and considering Hibs’ fine start, Aberdeen could not afford to lose this.

They were given a helping hand by the hosts’ disrupted preparation. Alex Gogic, a key cog in Hibs’ midfield, was ruled out due to a “false positive” Covid-19 test on Friday. Even though two subsequent tests were negative, the Cypriot must isolate for ten days. It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Hibees. He was replaced in midfield by Melker Hallberg, while Drey Wright came in for Daryl Horgan. The Irish winger is expected to leave Easter Road in the coming days to join an unnamed English outfit.

McInnes’ squad is becoming healthier with each passing week. He shuffled his pack once more, making two alterations to the team that routed
Runavik. Curtis Main and Dylan McGeouch dropped out, with 
Tommie Hoban and Ryan Hedges 
given starting berths. The latter’s inclusion seemed more than appropriate after his second-half Europa League hat-trick against the Faroese.

Given the importance of the match even this early on in the campaign, both teams would be forgiven for a cagey beginning. However, we were treated to a fast-paced opening ten minutes that set the tone for a high-quality first half.

Hibs were handed a very 
presentable opportunity to score within 60 seconds. There seemed 
little danger to Aberdeen when the ball was lofted into the penalty box, but Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis fumbled it under minimal pressure from Christian Doidge. Lewis, however, did well to recover and save Martin Boyle’s effort, although the Australian will feel he ought to have done better.

Lewis was called into action again on ten minutes, pushing a long-range effort by Josh Doig over his crossbar, before Aberdeen tested Hibs stopper Ofir Marciano five minutes later when a neat interchange between Scott Wright and Marley Watkins resulted in the former’s effort being blocked by the Israeli’s legs.

The match was being played at an enjoyable tempo, with both teams looking to attack whenever possible. Hibs put together two really attractive passing moves in quick succession; on the first occasion, Doidge lashed the ball over the bar from the penalty spot and ought to have done better. For the second, the ball just wouldn’t fall to the same player when free. Then Boyle’s effort from out wide was blocked by Lewis, who had recovered well from his early jitters, while at the other end, Marciano flung out a hand to deny 
Watkins.

Hibs had probably edged the half, although the best player on the pitch was Ross McCrorie. The Scotland Under-21 captain was heavily courted by Hibs until Aberdeen struck a deal with Rangers and his powerful performance alongside Lewis Ferguson emphasised why both teams wanted
him. He was strong in the tackle, 
diligent with his passing and a clear leader in Aberdeen’s engine room.

The defining moment of the first half came on 39 minutes. There appeared to be little danger when the ball landed at Boyle’s feet just inside his own penalty box, but the Australian internationalist – fresh from signing a new contract at Hibs – took too long in making the clearance. Unaware that Watkins was coming in on his blindside, the Welsh midfielder nicked in just as Boyle was swinging his foot, making contact with him. Nick Walsh will not have an easier penalty award this season and 
Ferguson stepped up to coolly send Marciano the wrong way. Aberdeen had made the crucial breakthrough.

Hibs will have felt aggrieved to be behind considering they had created the better chances, but their profligacy in front of goal had cost them. That trait continued to dog them into the second half. Aberdeen had become increasingly compact, but a clever sliderule pass from the again impressive Paul McGinn set Wright free in behind the Dons defence. Only he will know why he decided to square the ball to nobody rather than take aim at Lewis from a really good position.

By this point, Hibs boss Ross had already rolled the dice by bringing on Jamie Murphy for his debut, replacing Scott Allan. The appearances of Stevie Mallan and Jamie Gullan duly followed, but whatever the personnel, Hibs were finding it hard to pierce Aberdeen’s watertight defence.

McInnes’ men appeared content 
to stick rather than twist with a 
1-0 lead, taking the calculated gamble that Hibs would not have the wherewithal to find a way through them. McCrorie and Ferguson continued to harry whenever an opponent was in possession, with McGeouch introduced to add extra numbers to the 
midfield.

The quality level had dipped significantly as the second half wore on. Passes went astray, more and more fouls were being committed. The game was playing into Aberdeen’s hands, with their back three of Tommie Hoban, Scott McKenna and Andy Considine becoming 
dominant against an increasingly desperate Hibs attack.

In fact, as the match entered the final ten minutes, Aberdeen looked the more likely to score on the break. Substitute Main barrelled towards goal after clearing away from Ryan Porteous, but his shot, while ferocious, was too close to Marciano to beat him. Then McGeouch took aim from just outside the box, but 
Marciano denied him a goal against his former club.

The roar from Aberdeen’s players to greet Walsh’s full-time whistle emphasised just how important a triumph this was for them. The international
break has come at the wrong time for Aberdeen, but at least now we are talking about them for what’s happening on the field of play, not off it.

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