Inverness came out the traps the far better team and the Dons were struggling to get a foothold on the game and the ball. An early whipped free kick from Tremarco found Foran in the box, however his header bobbled harmlessly wide. Caley midfielder Ross almost opened the scoring as he fired a low shot through the legs of Hector. Langfield was sure the ball was going wide but it just brushed the post and went behind. A bit too close for comfort for the Dons keeper. Next it was Doran who had an effort on goal after a Shaighnessy mistake. Being pressured at right back by Ross, Shaughnessy tried to force the ball back to his keeper, however the ball was too weak and it looked as if the in form striker was to latch on to the ball. Out rushed Langfield and half cleared straight into the path of Doran. Doran struck the ball first time albeit tamely and allowed Langfield to get back and make a diving save to prevent his team from going behind. The young Aberdeen defender must have had his heart in his mouth at that point, a let off.
Against the run of play though, it was the team from the granite city that took the lead. Robson, who had hardly been in the game clipped a ball into the Inverness CT box towards Vernon. Meekings managed to get in front of the Dons striker but almost misjudged the flight of the ball as the ball struck his outstretched arm. Referee McLean pointed to the spot. Robson, who had won the penalty, stepped up and thunderously dispatched the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net. No chance for keeper Brill.
The game had turned completely round, Aberdeen were the team in the ascendancy now and were creating good ground and space within the opposition's half. It was then the former Inverness CT player again who sent the Aberdeen crowd wild. Pawlett drifted in a cross to the back post which found Robson. With his back to goal he struck the ball with the back of his head (knowing exactly hat he was doing) finding the top corner. The Dons had doubled their advantage. Aberdeen were now rampant, and on the 35th minute only five minutes after the second Aberdeen had made it three nil. Tenacious play from Flood in the middle of the park won the ball for Aberdeen and that sent Pawlett away driving at the heart of the Caley defence.Vernon had made a clever run wide and was calling for it to be played to him. Pawlett obliged, but instead of charging into the box the young Dons midfielder hung back a bit. Cries of shoot came from the way stand but Vernon had something else in mind. Aware that Pawlett had waited he cut the ball back and Pawlett had the easy task of making it Inverness 0-3 Aberdeen. Never could you have thought Aberdeen would be three nil up in the first half.
By now Inverness were being run ragged and torn to shreds, their shape and cohesion had collapsed. Aberdeen were aware of this and looked to heap even more misery upon the Caley Jags defence. Just before half time Aberdeen were on the counter again. Pawlett had challenged fairly and won the ball, it broke to Hector who played a neat pass to McGinn who was hanging on the far left touch line just inside his own half. He collected the ball and went on a run. Warren stood off McGin (a bad mistake) constantly back tracking not attempting to make a challenge as the Northern Irishman drove at him. Eventually just outside the box McGinn shifted the ball, cut inside and struck a low powerful shot that couldn't be stopped by Dean Brill much to the delight of the Dons. Unbelievable scenes as Aberdeen had scored four goals in the first forty five minutes. Chants of "The Sheep! The Sheep! The Sheep Are On Fire" reverberated around the stadium. Rightly so as Aberdeen were rampant.
The second half on the other hand was a very different tale. John Hughes must have told his players that getting an early goal in the second half would be key to sparking a come back. That they did. Within seconds of the second period kicking off Caley won themselves a corner. Tremarco swung the ball in, and Langfield rashly decided to come out and attempt to take the ball. He never got anywhere near it due to the fact there were around ten bodies in front of him. The ball fell to who else but Billy Mckay at the back post who poked the ball past Flood to spark an Inverness CT revival. The highlanders now had their tails up and ere searching for that key second goal. Ten minutes later on the 56th minute they got it. Indecisive play from the Dons defence allowed Ross to nip in between a crowd of Aberdeen players following a long ball from Tremarco. Ross stabbed the ball through to McKay who was 1 on 1 with Langfield. The striker made no mistake by rounding the keeper and firing past Hector to get Thistle back into the match.
Tremarco the whole game had been causing trouble from corner and did so once again on 68 minutes. Another superb delivery found the head of Draper. His header crashed against the post, but the ball fell to Raven who then scooped a shot onto the bar. Following a crazed scramble in the box Robson smashed the ball clear. From being so secure in the match Aberdeen were rocking. However Inverness CT for the next twenty minutes looked like they had run out of ideas whilst Aberdeen were starting to get it back together in defence. The Dons looked like they had weathered the storm but on the 90th minute, Shinnie popped up to reduce the Dons lead to only one goal. Warren floated a ball across the box to Shinnie who headed where Langfield had came from. His header nestled in the bottom corner of the net. Game on. It was now really a case of all hands to the pump for Aberdeen, fingernails were gone in the away end whilst the Caley fans tried to urge the ball into the net once more. In the final minute Aberdeen had a rare flurry forward in the second half. Hayes who had come on as a substitute should have put the game out of sight as he was clean through on goal but his lame effort dribbled into the arms of Dean Brill. The Aberdeen team survived one lat gasp corner from Thistle to hang on and head back down the road with all three points. One word to describe that game, sensational.
FT: Inverness CT 3-4 Aberdeen
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
- 12 Brill
- 03 Shinnie
- 18 Tremarco
- 09 Foran (Raven - 47' )
- 05 Warren
- 06 Meekings
- 19 Williams Booked
- 08 Draper Booked
- 07 McKay
- 11 Ross (Agdestein - 76' )
- 10 Doran
Substitutes
- 01 Esson
- 02 Raven
- 14 Devine
- 17 Greenhalgh
- 20 Polworth
- 21 Pepper
- 23 Agdestein
Aberdeen
- 01 Langfield
- 02 Shaughnessy
- 06 Reynolds (Hayes - 64' )
- 22 Jack
- 27 Hector
- 04 Anderson
- 10 McGinn
- 08 Flood
- 09 Vernon (Magennis - 96' )
- 15 Robson
- 16 Pawlett
Substitutes
- 07 Zola
- 11 Hayes
- 14 Smith
- 17 Wylde
- 18 Low
- 20 Weaver
- 21 Magennis
No comments:
Post a Comment