Al Ittihad 1 - 2 Aberdeen

Aberdeen started the match in a 4-4-2 formation with Mair and Considine in the centre of defence, Foster on the left and Hart on the right. In midfield Clark and Nicholson were in the middle with de Visscher right and Jamie Smith on the left. Brewster partnered Steve Lovell up front. After a quiet start the game erupted in the final fifteen minutes.

The referee had been poor throughout the half but got it right when he awarded the Dons a spot kick in the 34th minute. Lovell had released Smith into the box and the midfielder was upended. Nicholson fired low into the corner but the keeper pulled off a fine save to deny Aberdeen the lead. A minute later Smith released Lovell one-on one with the keeper but once again a fine save denied the Dons. Chris Clark was then handed a soft caution and Craig Brewster quickly followed the midfielder into the referee's book.

Then in the 37th minute the home side were awarded a very soft free kick on the edge of the box and Ramy fired his shot through the wall and past Langfield for an undeserved lead. Worse was to follow when Clark was handed a second yellow card for kicking the ball away leaving the Dons with a real uphill task. Aberdeen were not to be denied and de Visscher levelled a minute before the break. Nicholson and Lovell linked well to release the Dutchman who then produced a clinical finish.

With the Dons down to ten men Jimmy Calderwood had to adjust his formation and Brewster was sacrificed for Touzani. However seven minutes into the second half it was ten against ten when Shokry received his marching orders from the card happy official. From the resultant free kick Nicholson fired in a superb cross and the keeper was forced into a fine save from Man of the Match Steve Lovell. Diamond replaced Mair in the 56th minute and Maguire replaced de Visscher in the 70th minute. Four minutes later the Dons grabbed a deserved winner.

Smith jinked past a couple of defenders and played a neat through ball to Lovell who had made a diagonal run accross the defence and beat the keeper with a cool finish. The drama didn't end there however as Considine collected a yellow in the 86th minute and Langfield was yellow carded in the 93rd minute. In the final minute Galal felled substitute Chris Maguire with, what appeared to be a punch. The referee immediately sent him off with a straight red and as Barry Nicholson went over to Maguire to find out how he was the official bizarrely showed the Dons midfielder a straight red card and he too was sent off.