Aberdeen 1
Dundee 0
League (Premier League)

Match Report

Dundee lost narrowly 1-0 to Aberdeen at Pittodrie tonight in a match ruined as a spectacle by a shocking pitch. Dundee competed manfully throughout but went down to a preventable first half goal by Niall McGinn. Dundee fought back well and had the better of the second half, but couldn't fashion an equaliser.

Nicky Riley and Ryan Conroy came into the starting line-up instead of Kevin McBride and Colin Nish. John Baird played on his own up front, with Gary Harkins filling the gap between him and the midfield.

Aberdeen had the first chance. McGinn's close range shot was blocked by Gary Irvine and the home side appealed loudly and unsuccessfully for handball.

A Harkins free kick was half cleared as far as Easton, whose shot from the edge of the area was beaten away by Langfield. Baird chased after the ball and cut it back into the goalmouth, where Toshney couldn't quite reach it to turn it in.

Just like last week Dundee conceded the first goal after the opposition broke quickly from an attacking Dee set piece. After 18 minutes Langfield missed a Conroy corner and Aberdeen scrambled the ball away. Niall McGINN was then allowed to run unchallenged right through the middle of the park and score with a low shot from 25 yards that flew across Douglas, who might be disappointed he didn't reach it.

The match then entered a dreadful spell in which neither side could handle the bumpy, greasy pitch. Dundee tried hard to work the ball through the middle, but the pitch defeated them when the ball was on the ground and Baird struggled to worry the home defence in the air.

Dundee's game came together in a fine flowing move at the end of the first half. Baird found Harkins who played a beautiful pass through for McAlister to flash a shot against the underside of the bar. Agonisingly the ball came down on the wrong side of the line and Aberdeen escaped.

The Dark Blues picked up in the second half where they left off before the break. Baird laid the ball of neatly for McAlister to surge through the middle and shoot from 18 yards Langfield at full stretch touched the ball away.

Dundee were handling the dreadful pitch better now; either playing the ball low to Baird for him to lay it off, or knocking it into space for runners. For all their possession, however, they couldn't get players on the end of good balls into the penalty area.

Gary Irvine shot over from 15 yards after Aberdeen failed to clear the ball. Then John Baird managed to wriggle clear, but couldn't get enough power in his shot to worry Langfield. At the other end a McGinn angled shot flew across goal and several yards wide as the home fans became frustrated at their team's sloppy performance.

After using all three substitutes Aberdeen lost Osbourne with what looked like a hamstring injury. Dundee pressed forward with their one man advantage. Dundee threw on Colin Nish and tried frantically to grab an equaliser, but it wasn't to be.

This was yet again a very frustrating defeat, but it was a long way from the worst performance of the season by the Dark Blues. Aberdeen played poorly for most of the match, and Dundee dominated the second half. Sadly they were undone by a carelessly conceded goal in the first half, bad luck when McAlister hit the bar, and the lack of a cutting edge in the second half when they couldn't turn possession into a goal.

Match report written by James Christie - Official Dundee website