Dundee 1
Aberdeen 1
League (Premiership)

Match Report

Dundee had to settle for a draw against Aberdeen in the final home game of the season. Luka Tankulic gave the Dee the lead shortly before half time. It looked like the Dee would hold out for a win, but Adam Rooney forced the ball home from a corner to earn a point for the Dons deep into injury time.

The Dark Blues made three changes; Gary Irvine and Kosta Gadzhalov returned in defence, replacing Willie Dyer and Thomas Konrad. In midfield 18 year old Calvin Colquhoun was given his first start, with Stephen McGinn moving onto the bench.

Just like last week Dundee opened brightly, looking dangerous from the start. Happily, unlike last week, that wasn't followed by an early goal for the visitors. The Dark Blues won two early corners, and the second was a great delivery from Greg Stewart. Gadazhalov got a touch, but couldn't get a clean shot and the ball bobbled wide. Stewart and Luka Tankulic were combining impressively, and a sweet move ended with Stewart firing narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area.

Dundee had much the better of the opening 15 minutes, but had to call on Kyle Letheren to stop the Dons opening the scoring after 18 minutes. First he parried Pawlett's shot from distance. The Dee couldn't clear, and when the ball was returned into the goalmouth the Welsh keeper made a magnificent double save from a Pawlett shot then a follow up header from Shankland. The final save was of the very highest order, and earned Letheren a huge ovation from the Dark Blues' support who couldn't quite believe the ball hadn't ended up in the net.

Aberdeen were now a far more dangerous proposition than they had been in a lethargic opening. An incisive attack down the right ended with Goodwillie's shot from Smith's cut back being blocked for a corner.

The game had opened up nicely now with play flowing from end to end. Yet another good move between Stewart and Tankulic ended with the German striker forcing a good save from Scott Brown in the Aberdeen goal. At the other end Letheren saved well from an angled Robson drive and Dundee managed to escape the resulting frantic scramble.

The Dee grabbed the first goal shortly before the break with a goal that left the Dons' central defence with faces as red as their shirts. They made a horrible mess of a simple, high ball, allowing McAlister to seize possession and play TANKULIC in to take the ball past Brown and tap it into the empty net.

Dundee replaced Jim McAlister with Stephen McGinn at half time. Calvin Colquhoun moved to the right of the midfield to accommodate McGinn in the middle.

Aberdeen spent the opening 10 minutes of the second half camped out in the Dundee half without creating anything to trouble the Dark Blues' defence. For all their possession it took until the 57th minute to bring Letheren back into action when he turned Robson's 25 yarder round the post.

The signs were ominous for Dundee when Aberdeen brought the division's top scorer Adam Rooney into the game, replacing Lawrence Shankland after an hour. However, the Dark Blues then took a grip of the game in midfield and started to exert pressure on a Dons' defence that didn't look entirely convincing.

At times Dundee's play was too intricate, but generally they held possession well as they probed for openings. A marvellous run by Stewart opened up Aberdeen's defence, but he duffed his shot. 10 minutes from time Tankulic pulled up while chasing a long ball and he limped off to be replaced by Alex Harris.

The Dons' second substitution was of particular interest to the home fans. Central defender Donervon Daniels was replaced by Nicky Low, who has signed a pre-contract agreement to join Dundee next season.

Aberdeen were struggling to mount effective attacks, usually giving the ball away as they tried to come forward in too much of a hurry. In contrast the Dark Blues looked composed and in control, holding the ball deep in the Aberdeen half as the game moved into injury time. A clever move left Paul McGowan in space on the edge of the penalty area, but he overcooked his chip, sending it well over the bar.

Disappointingly Dundee failed to keep the Dons pinned back in their own half. They carelessly conceded a free kick for offside by Aberdeen'corner flag, giving Brown the chance to launch the ball deep into Dundee's half. Kosta Gadzalov misdirected a header over his own crossbar from Smith's cross. Robson's corner was knocked behind for a second corner. This time Robson's cross found Considine whose powerful header was cleared off the line by Gary Irvine, only for ROONEY to bundle the ball into the net to secure a point that had looked beyond the Dons.

The final whistle went almost as soon as Dundee had restarted play. The Dark Blues had come within a few seconds of finishing their home campaign with a pleasing home win against the Premiership runners up. Losing a late goal was disappointing, but setting that aside this was a far better performance than we have seen since the derby victory.

The composure, passing, movement and invention produced football that was well up to the quality Dundee have reached during their best spells this season. The only criticism might be that the good football didn't create as many clear openings as it should have done. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the game was seeing Calvin Colquhoun looking very much at home in midfield. That is a good sign for next season. Before then there is still one more game to go. Next Sunday brings the final derby of the season at Tannadice, and that is very unlikely to be a tame end of season affair!

Match report written by James Christie - Official Dundee website