Aberdeen 3 - 0 Hamilton

Aberdeen produced another excellent performance this afternoon and this week they were rewarded with a 3-0 victory. An even and scrappy first half saw few chances at either end but Aberdeen took the lead from a well worked corner on 27 minutes. McGinn floated a good ball over and the outstanding Ash Taylor powered home a header. The second half was more open and one sided as Aberdeen put in a very dominant display. On 51 minutes McGinn pounced on an error at the back before producing a quality finish. Then on 55 minutes Hayes was brought down in the box and Rooney scored with an excellent penalty. After that the Dons continued to play some very good football and could have scored a few more. The win moves Aberdeen above the Accies into fourth place in the table.
Match Report

Derek McInnes stuck with the same side that lost but played so well against Dundee last weekend in the Scottish Cup 4th Round. So the Dons lined up with Scott Brown in goal, Logan at right back, Taylor and Reynolds were in central defence with Considine at left back. Jack Hayes and Pawlett had roles in the middle of the park with McGinn and Rooney in the wide areas and Goodwillie up top.

Aberdeen won a series of early corners and they appeared to be trying a new pre-planned move for the set pieces. It looked like the old Ebbe Skovdahl routine of all the players wheeling round from the edge of the box and making a late run into the area. It was to work well for them later in the half.

In the 11th minute of the match there was an emotional minutes' applause from the Red Army as a tribute to 11 year old Dons fan Bobby Douglas who was tragically killed recently.

On 12 minutes Scott Brown had to look lively and produced a good piece of handling when he came and gathered a dangerous low ball into the area by Crawford. Apart from that, Scott had very little to do for the rest of the afternoon.

The first 20 minutes or so were a very cagey affair and quite scrappy. There was little for the 10,330 fans to get excited about at a cold but dry Pittodrie. On 21 minutes a nice move from the Dons, McGinn threaded a neat pass through towards Rooney but a late flag went up for offside.

In the 23rd minute there was a slight altercation on the touchline between both dugouts - the end result was a yellow card for player/manager Alex Neil. The Hamilton boss looked less than impressed by the decision.
At this stage the game was still very tight with nothing in it. And still scrappy.

As usual against Hamilton they were giving the Dons absolutely no time on the ball and closing down red shirts very quickly. The Dons were though having some joy from corners and a good ball in from Hayes caused all sorts of problems. Then on 27 minutes from another corner Aberdeen took the lead. McGinn floated in a good ball to about the penalty spot and the cross was met perfectly by Ash Taylor who powered a header past McGovern.

On the half hour mark a half chance for the Accies, a shot from outside the box was easily saved by Scott Brown. On 33 minutes David Goodwillie, who put in a great shift for the team today, won the Dons a free kick in a central position about 30 yards out. McGinn took it and his free kick went straight into the arms of McGovern.

On 38 minutes Martin Canning was booked for bringing Adam Rooney down midway inside the Accies half. A free kick was swung in before Jonny Hayes headed wide with looping header from just outside the box.

On 40 minutes a superb long ball forward from Ash Taylor, who was the best player on the park this afternoon, picked out Logan free on the right. He put over a dangerous ball to the near post but the visitors managed to scramble the ball clear.

Shay Logan was booked for a late tackle in injury time at the end of the first half.

HT

Whilst the first half was a pretty even affair with few chances, the second half was extremely one sided with Aberdeen creating a host of opportunities.

It really was all one way traffic and when Niall McGinn made it 2-0 on 51 minutes there was only going to be one winner. The goal really was a gift from Accies - from a throw in young left back Stephen Hendrie played a loose square pass across his own penalty box. Niall McGinn nipped in, his first touch bounced up nicely and with McGovern off his line Niall showed a touch of class by calmly lobbing the stranded keeper and finding the empty net.

A couple of minutes later the Dons went further ahead. After another neat passing move Hayes burst into the box before being clattered just inside the area. The ball broke wide to McGinn and his low cross was cut out before referee Brian Colvin pointed to the spot. Hamilton were unhappy with the length of time it took the referee to give the award, it was not clear if he had played advantage or just taken his time before awarding the spot kick. Anyway it was a foul so it was the correct decision. Adam Rooney took it and hammered a shot past McGovern. The keeper guessed the right way but got nowhere near it.

On 61 minutes another slick passing move from the forwards set up McGinn who was free on the right of the area. His shot looked to be heading in but McGovern produced a brilliant save to divert the ball onto the cross bar with a strong arm.

On 66 minutes Ryan Jack very nearly scored. Shay Logan played over a good cross from the right to the back post area and Ryan was only inches away from finding the target.

On 69 minutes the first change for the Dons - Goodwillie made way for Lawrence Shankland.

The game really was over as a contest and the crowd were certainly enjoying what they were seeing. They were getting involved in the proceedings and when they shouted for Ash Taylor to shoot from distance the big centre half duly obliged! Although he put in a good shot he failed with his direction.

On 76 minutes a second change for the Dons - Cammy Smith came on for Peter Pawlett.

The frustration the visitors were feeling began to boil over. On 80 minutes Longridge was booked for throwing the ball away and then a few minutes later Rouledge received a straight red after clashing with Ryan Jack. The initial tackle was reckless and he was rightly sent off.

On 84 minutes Aberdeen made their final change - Monakana came on for Rooney. Jeffrey certainly had a big impact when he came on and livened up the final period of the game. On 88 minutes he produced a wonderful run and cross which picked out an unmarked Shankland in the area but from close range he could not divert the ball into the net.

In the end a comfortable win for the Dons after a very commanding second half performance.