Aberdeen 2
Dundee Utd 0
League (Premier Division)

Match Report

The United side showed three changes from the one which had drawn with Thistle. Freddy van der Hoorn returned in place of Mark Perry; Grant Johnson came in for the injured Dave Bowman while Craig Brewster dropped down to the subs bench art the expense of John O'Neil.

Whilst Aberdeen had most of the early possession, neither keeper was unduly troubled until midway throutgh the opening half and it was Snelders who was first called into action. Christian Dailly got his head to a Grant Johnson cross and the Dutch keeper was at full strength to hold the ball. Three minutes later, however we fell behind and again it was a bad goal to lose. There seemed little danger when Stuart McKimmie flighted in a cross, but Brian Welsh let it go when he could easily have headed the ball clear and Mixu Paatelainen followed the ball in to net from a tight angle at the far post. Nine minutes before the break, United's task of extending a run of six games unbeaten at Pittodrie became a very much an uphill battle as Paatelainen provided a cross to Duncan Shearer from which the former Blackburn Rovers striker scored with a spectacular hook shot from the edge of the box.

Dons grew in confidence following this and twice Paatelainen sidefooted narrowly past and Kane blasted wide when well placed before the interval. United began the second half displaying a lot of neat possession football, but apart from that first half Christian Dailly header, had failed to really trouble Snelders until ten minutes into the second half. The ball was transferred from John O'Neil on the left to Andy McLaren on the right and he clipped the ball back to Billy McKinlay on the edge of the box. Snelders was at full stretch to knock Badger's shot up and over the bar. However, this was the nearest we came to scoring and Grant Johnson cleared an Irvine header off the line shortly afterwards. A John O'Neil drive was deflected past, but there was never any real threat to the Dons two goal advantage as the home side emerged comfortable winners.