Kilmarnock 3 - 1 Aberdeen

A hat trick of errors from the Dons handed Kilmarnock the three points at Rugby Park today. Tosh, Preece and Hart were the sinners and despite Prunty grabbing his first goal for the club, the Dons were well beaten. After showing some promise in the opening 45 minutes the visitors showed a lack of cutting edge after the break and never looked like getting in behind the Killie defence. So after a little venture up the league the Dons are back at second bottom of the SPL.

There was a smaller than usual turnout by the red army today, but those present experienced a slightly "different" pre match entertainment as the home side celebrated their family day. Kilmarnock provided some live karaoke that had to be seen (or heard) to be believed.

Aberdeen made a disastrous start to the match when Kilmarnock grabbed a sensational lead in the opening minute. Comeback man Steve Tosh was short with a pass back allowing Craig Dargo to nip in and fire the ball past Preece. The Dons were in trouble again in the third minute when Boyd broke and McGuire made a last minute tackle, which produced claims for a spot quick. McGuire had clearly made contact with the ball and referee Underhill was spot on with his decision. Aberdeen tried to force their way back in to the match and Sheerin was on target in the 4th minute, but the shot was well held by Meldrum.

The Dons picked up a couple of knocks early on when first Preece picked up a head knock when making an important save at the feet of Boyd. Then in the 10th minute Boyd was luck to escape a caution with a late challenge on Morrison that required a fair bit of treatment. The Dons won their first corner when a Prunty shot was deflected wide in the 13th minute. The Dons had settled now and started to create chances. Good work from Heikkinen set a header up for Sheerin in the 17th minute, but once again Meldrum was comfortable.

Steve Tosh made amends for his earlier faux pas when he played a part in the Dons equaliser in the 23rd minute. Morrison delivered a great cross that Tosh steered back across goal where he found Prunty. It took a couple of attempts, but the youngster finally claimed his opening Dons goal and a deserved equaliser. Two minutes later Hinds attempted a snap shot, which went well wide of the target. The Dons lead only lasted five minutes and once again it was a mistake that led to the goal. Preece came out to collect a Skora corner and missed the ball allowing Boyd to net at the far post.

Two minutes later Preece recovered his confidence with a fine save from Skora. Aberdeen almost conceded a third in the 33rd minute when the home side broke quickly from a Dons attack and Skora went one-on-one on Preece. The keeper made himself big and forced the Frenchman to fire wide. The Dons continued to live dangerously and were almost carved open again in the 41st minute when it required a goal line clearance from Preece to prevent a third. A minute later Preece made a stop from Fowler with his feet to keep Kilmarnock at bay. In the closing minute Zander Diamond joined the attack and hit a fierce shot that Meldrum was forced to tip over the bar.

Aberdeen started positively and almost levelled again in the opening minute of the second half. Both Prunty and Hinds having half chances before Meldrum collected. The Dons were enjoying the early pressure without penetrating the home defence, but after an initial ten minutes of dominance Kilmarnock settled again. Tiernan replaced Tosh in the 63rd minute clearly suffering from lack of match practice. Kilmarnock had a couple of chances from free kicks as first Skora wasted a chance in the 69th minute then two minutes later Preece made a fine save from a well struck Boyd shot.

John Stewart replaced Sheerin in the 74th minute, but within two minutes the Dons were 3-1 behind as a third mistake was punished. This time it was Michael Hart who lost the ball in midfield allowing McSwegan to surge forward and hit a fierce shot, which Preece could only parry into the path of Boyd. The Killie man made no mistake to make it number three. Michael Hart was injured in the move and unable to continue. This allowed young Richard Buckley to make his debut for the club in the 78th minute.

In the closing minutes both sides almost added to the tally. Nish broke in the 88th minute only to be denied by Preece. Then seconds later Meldrum had to look lively to prevent an embarrassing own goal from Dodds. A goal at that stage for the Dons would have put a respectable look on the score that would not have been deserved.