Hibernian 1 - 1 Aberdeen

Aberdeen U20s finished their victorious league campaign with a draw this afternoon in Edinburgh against Hibs. Both teams fielded young sides with one eye on next season.

In a 4-2-3-1 formation Aberdeen lined up with Mutch in goal, Henry at right back, Sam Robertson was at left back with Rose and Culjak in central defence. Gibbons and Campanile were sitting midfielders with Jones, Wright and Norris ahead of them and Kalvin Orsi was upfront. Within about 30 seconds Aberdeen had a great chance to take the lead when hesitation at the back let Orsi in and with the keeper stranded Kalvin will be disappointed he did not hit the target. His effort just went wide, although to be fair there was a really strong wind sweeping across the park which was making life difficult for all the players. The swirling wind caused issues for Brennan which led to the mistake to the first place. Aberdeen were superb in the opening stages and completely dominated. They almost went ahead in the 9th minute with one of the goals of the season. A corner was cleared as far as the edge of the box. Central defender Michael Rose killed the ball superbly on his chest, flicked the ball over the onrushing Hibs player Adam Watson with his right foot and then with his left smashed a volley towards goal which completely beat the keeper but crashed off the underside of the bar. It would have been up there with one of the great goals! Whilst the goal frame were still shaking after Rose's effort, Aberdeen took the lead. Norris played a ball into the danger area, full back Dunsmore came across to help out his centre half but he made a mess of his clearance and Kalvin Orsi did well to win the ball before placing it through the legs of keeper Brennan. Kalvin has scored some vital goals for the 20s this season and with Shankland and Smith stepping up next year he is likely to be one of Paul Sheerin's attacking options.
Hibs to their credit came slowly back into the game as the half wore on. They had a couple of chances, Lewis Allan produced a good turn in the box but his shot was well saved and well held by Robbie Mutch. It was very challenging conditions for goalkeepers this afternoon but again young Mutch impressed. Considering he is only 16 the keeper can be very proud of his efforts this season. After regaining some control of the game it looked like the Dons would go in at the break ahead but just before the interval Hibs got in behind the Dons defence. A ball was played across the box from the right flank and at the back of the area Norris collided with Jordan Sinclair and the Hibs player went flying. The referee was well positioned and he pointed to the spot. Arron can consider himself a bit unlucky but he also maybe did not need to make the challenge. Conner Duthie stepped up to take the pen and sent Mutch the wrong way.

At the start of the second half Hibs started well. On 48 minutes Sinclair has a shot deflected wide. His corner is then steered just past the post by McGregor and then on 53 minutes Hendry headed the ball into the side netting from Sinclair's corner. After about ten minutes into the second half Paul Sheerin made a tactical change, he went to a 3-4-1-2 formation with Gibbons dropping deeper. After that both teams cancelled each other out and there were no clear cut chances at either end. Aberdeen put over a lot of crosses but did not get enough bodies into the box. Hibs offered a threat from a few set-pieces near the end but Rose and Culjak stood firm. The best chance fell to McGregor who headed over the bar in injury time. Both teams blooded a few younger players during the second half. Paul Sheerin handed a debut to Bruce Anderson. Bruce will be coming in full time next season and he can be well pleased with his contribution today. Later in the match Seb Ross was also given a run out. He is another name to look out for in the future.