Aberdeen 1 - 0 Dunfermline Athletic

Aberdeen bounced back from the midweek defeat to grab three points against a stubborn Dunfermline side. After surviving an onslaught in the first half the Pars finally succumbed to a Scott Severin header after losing the influential Scot Wilson at the back. A cross into the box wasn't dealt with and Severin beat the keeper to the ball to head home. There were the usual nervous moments in the closing stages but Aberdeen held out for the three points. Dyron Daal made his debut and survived 88 minutes and now the Dons have a break before facing Celtic at Pittodrie in a fortnight.

Aberdeen kicked off and started positively with Mackie and Stewart just failing to link in the opening minute. At the other end Morrison managed the first shot on goal but Langfield comfortably held the 20-yard effort. The Dons then won the first corner in the 3rd minute and Stewart headed Nicholson's cross over the bar. Aberdeen continued to press forward and Daal was winning a lot in the air but could have done better in the 5th minute when he failed to test De Vries with a poor header. It was a real blood and guts game in the middle of the park with no quarter given by either side.

Aberdeen were showing a lot more pace as they looked to pin the Pars back and Daal's pace almost caught out De Vries in the 11th minute as the keeper dithered as he attempted to clear. There were loud appeals for a spot kick in the 14th minute when Mackie went down in the box and for a moment it looked as if referee Smith was pointing to the spot but he actually awarded a goal kick. It may have been a soft award but there was certainly contact made. A minute later Anderson went close from a corner as he controlled the ball on the edge of the box and hit a sweet volley that went inches over.

Aberdeen continued to dominate and in the 17th minute Foster tracked back well and found Stewart on the edge of the box and his lay off was deflected wide by Severin. The resulting corner was headed over by Diamond. Calderwood was then forced into a change when Touzani limped off and was replaced by Considine. The game then went flat for a period as the visitor's continued to frustrate the Dons and space was at a premium. Severin then collected the first yellow card in the 29th minute for a rather rash challenge in the middle of the park before Dunfermline went close a minute later when Tod beat Considine and fired across the face of goal.

Scott Wilson then denied Stewart in the 32nd minute when he was put through on goal after an error by Bamba. Just as the youngster was set to pull the trigger Wilson got back to block the effort. Severin was walking a tight rope with a second poor challenge, but a quiet word sufficed. A period of Pars pressure produced three corners, which were well defended before the Dons then turned defence into attack and De Vries looked uncomfortable as he punched two crosses clear before comfortably collecting a long-range effort from Severin.

Darren Young followed Severin into the book for a poor challenge on the Dons midfielder as Aberdeen continued to press and a blocked effort from Diamond was followed by a poor effort from Daal after a clever dummy from Nicholson. In the last minute the Pars won a soft free kick but Tod was unable to get on the end of the subsequent cross. Then in the closing seconds Nicholson went down after a challenge from McGuire and this looked a much stronger claim than the first but referee Smith was unimpressed and the Dons left the field frustrated.

Good play between Foster and Stewart set up Nicholson in the 48th minute but two defenders quickly blocked his shot. The match then exploded two minutes later when De Vries picked up a pass back from Scott Wilson before a huge melee erupted. Once everyone calmed down referee Smith decided to take no action. The resulting free kick saw Nicholson roll the ball to Clark with ten players charging his shot down. Frustrations were starting to show as Considine had a poor shot from 25 yards out that ended in row Z of the RDS. Dunfermline then went close as Langfield was forced into a save from Darren Young.

Dempsey replaced Stewart in the 57th minute as the Dons looked for the key to unlock this packed Pars defence. On the hour mark Dempsey attempted a lob that wasn't too far away before Daal linked well with Mackie and De Vries was forced into a save low to his left. Aberdeen continued the onslaught but Daal then Nicholson both had shots blocked as they tried to break through this wall of players. Aberdeen finally scored in the 68th minute after Scott Wilson had been substituted. The defence simply didn't deal with a cross into the box and Severin beat De Vries to the ball to head into the net.

Both players needed treatment but Severin almost double the tally a minute later before De Vries stuck out a foot to block the effort. Diamond then managed a weak shot under pressure in the 76th minute before Tod was booked as he went to take out Langfield with no attempt to play the ball. Diamond was then booked in the 81st minute despite looking to clearly play the ball. The subsequent free kick almost produced an equaliser as the Dons struggled to clear and Langfield looked revealed as the ball cleared the bar.

The Dons were starting to get pushed further back as once again they struggled to kill of their opponents. Mackie could have sealed it with thee minutes to go when he headed a Foster cross well over the top. Maguire then replaced Daal for the last couple of minutes and was booked a minute later for kicking the ball away seconds after being denied a clear free kick when he was bundled off the ball. Maguire almost released Mackie in injury time but Campbell managed to intervene and force the ball back to his keeper who having learnt from his previous mistake booted it out of play.

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Match Stats:

		Dons	Pars
Goal Attempts		9	3
On Target		6	2
Corners		7	3
Possession		57%	43%

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