Aberdeen started with real intent and were giving Hibs a real test in the opening quarter of the match. The "test" was more in the way of an aerial bombardment but defender Mark Reynolds stepped up and fired a shot in on the Hibs goal from just outside the box. He caught it superbly well and forced Williams into a great save which he pushed back out into the box before it was cleared. Several minutes later the men in red had a real penalty shout, the ball fell to Anderson at the edge of the area who then tried the volley at goal. In rushed Kevin Thompson and definitely used his arm to block the shot, however the referee waved play on. Hibs found themselves under severe amounts of pressure and Niall McGinn continued to cause problems. He cleverly took Robertson and McGivern both out of the game at the one time following a neat bit of skill. The nippy striker stepped passed Hanlon, set himself for the shot but his curling effort was just too high and in the end did not trouble the Hibs keeper. A brilliant run though from McGinn who is still yet to find the net from open play this season. It was then Ryan Jack's turn to have a go at the green and white defence just before the break. He picked the ball up in the Aberdeen half and drove right through the heart of the Hibernian midfield un-challenged. Zola had peeled off his marker and with his excellent vision Jack spotted this and played the ball through to the number seven. Zola controlled the ball but then rifled his shot into the side netting. The home team managed to muster an effort of their own on the stroke of half time. A top quality cross-field pass from Robertson to Heffernan allowed the former Kilmarnock striker in at goal. Langfield had positioned himself well so when Heffernan blasted the ball at him hen was well aware, but could only turn it behind for a corner.
Derek McInnes had obviously told his players to get back to the tempo they showed in the early stages of the first half, and they listened. Aberdeen came firing out the traps. A poor misjudgement from McGivern allowed Pawlett in behind the defence on fifty minutes. The usually pacy winger looked unsure of what to do and began to dwell on the ball as he bore down on goal, out rushed Williams and made the save from Pawlett's tame effort, however the ball bounced the way of Niall McGinn who also had his shot blocked this time by McPake. The Dons really should of opened the scoring. McGivern could breathe a sigh of relief. Pawlett was not to be deterred however and minutes later he was taking on three Hibs players at once, his shot was then blocked but found it's way to Zola. He controlled with his chest and tried a volley. Let's just say a we boy in the top tier would have been extremely happy to catch the match ball. Both teams then missed to very good opportunities to break the deadlock. McGinn again saw his shot sail over the bar and into the 2,000 strong travelling support. Vine then smashed in a good effort but was blocked by his own man Collins who was offside. It was difficult to tell if the ball was ever going in. Then finally with ten minutes to go the Red Army had something to cheer about. Wylde had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds and dispossessed Stevenson in an area of the pitch you don't want to be losing the ball. He then layed off to Vernon who exquisitely curled into the postage stamp of the goal from just outside the box. That created a wall of noise from the away fans and had them jumping around like crazy. The deadlock had been broken. A real scare came just after the Dons had put themselves ahead, it looked as if Aberdeen's hard work and endeavour all afternoon was about to be undone. Langfield slipped during a back pass from Robson and allowed Collins in on goal. To be fair to the keeper he sprang up and closed down the angle well alongside skipper Russel Anderson. Both players forced Collins into a hurried effort. Aberdeen and their fans could stop biting their nails for a second as he curled the ball wide of the post. The game was all but sealed in the final minute of the game when Aberdeen got their second goal of the game. A great through pass from Vernon to Wylde allowed the winger in behind the defence. Wylde calmly rolled the ball past Williams and into the net and sent the Aberdeen fans... well "wylde".
FT: Hibernian 0-2 Aberdeen
Hibernian
- 01 Williams
- 16 Stevenson
- 03 McGivern
- 17 Tudur Jones (Collins - 55' )
- 06 McPake
- 04 Hanlon
- 08 Robertson Booked
- 38 Thomson
- 24 Heffernan (Vine - 62' )
- 27 Zoubir (Handling - 74' )
- 10 Craig
Substitutes
- 09 Vine
- 11 Cairney
- 14 Collins
- 19 Handling
- 20 Taiwo
- 21 Murdoch
- 23 Forster
Aberdeen
- 01 Langfield
- 02 Shaughnessy
- 03 Robertson
- 08 Flood
- 04 Anderson
- 06 Reynolds
- 10 McGinn
- 22 Jack Booked
- 07 Zola (Vernon - 65' )
- 16 Pawlett (Wylde - 79' )
- 11 Hayes (Robson - 71' )
Substitutes
- 05 Considine
- 09 Vernon
- 14 Smith
- 15 Robson
- 17 Wylde
- 20 Weaver
- 27 Hector
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