I said in my previous blog that I would be happy with a draw from today's game with Hearts, but after the game I think we had enough chances to win the game and the Hearts Keeper kept them in it.
People who don't follow the game never get it when I say you can get a good nil nil draw, but this was one of those games. It was far from a bore and Aberdeen were constantly looking dangerous and even though we were never really in any danger Hearts did get a break away now and again and look dangerous.
I felt a bit sorry for Young who has played well in recent weeks and was dropped to the bench for Hartley to come back into the starting line up.
I was pleased with Andrew Considine who came in to replace the injured Zander Diamond, in my opinion Zander has been a liability this season and may struggle to get back in the team if the defence keep performing like they did today. I know going by reading what people are saying on Donstalk that I am not alone in thinking it would not hurt Aberdeen if Zander was to move on at the end of the season.
The point puts us level on points with Dundee United and Saint Johnstone, Dundee United who as I write this are down 1-0 to Hamilton and Saint Johnstone who play Rangers on Sunday and have a very slim chance of coming away from Ibrox with anything.
We play both teams over the next 9 days.
So apart from the Celtic game which a win would have been a bonus the only real blip in February was the defeat to Motherwell. If we had won that game Craig Brown might have been up there as a contender for Manager of the month.
Oh how times have changed from the dark days of 2010.
Stand Free
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Maguire makes Hamilton pay the Penalty
After a five star performance on Saturday against Kilmarnock, I thought today's game would be a hard battle.
Hamilton are scraping for points and I knew they would try to do anything in their power not to lose the game.
Chris Maguire calmly stepped up and took the penalty that turned out to be the only goal of the game.
After the way the team played on Saturday I was glad to see Paul Hartley did not walk straight back into the starting line up. The players that played on Saturday earned their start for tonight's game.
It was a nervous game at times and it sounded like Jamie Langfield once again made a few good saves to keep us in the lead.
The last five minutes Hamilton were really putting on the pressure but out defence stood strong and took the three points.
With fifteen points between us and bottom place Hamilton I think we can safely look up towards the teams we are chasing and not down at the relegation dog fight.
Craig brown has made us tough to beat and I look forward to Saturday's game against Hearts.
Hearts are going well at the moment and are running away with third place, it is going to be a tough game and I would be lying if I said I would not be happy to take a point from this game.
Stand Free
Hamilton are scraping for points and I knew they would try to do anything in their power not to lose the game.
Chris Maguire calmly stepped up and took the penalty that turned out to be the only goal of the game.
After the way the team played on Saturday I was glad to see Paul Hartley did not walk straight back into the starting line up. The players that played on Saturday earned their start for tonight's game.
It was a nervous game at times and it sounded like Jamie Langfield once again made a few good saves to keep us in the lead.
The last five minutes Hamilton were really putting on the pressure but out defence stood strong and took the three points.
With fifteen points between us and bottom place Hamilton I think we can safely look up towards the teams we are chasing and not down at the relegation dog fight.
Craig brown has made us tough to beat and I look forward to Saturday's game against Hearts.
Hearts are going well at the moment and are running away with third place, it is going to be a tough game and I would be lying if I said I would not be happy to take a point from this game.
Stand Free
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Aberdeen's Fantastic Five Killie off Kilmarnock.
This was always a potential banana skin of a game, Kilmarnock are a tough side to break down. Aberdeen have not really been playing well in recent weeks.
Scottie Vernon and Birthday Boy Sone Aluko had given us a nice cushion with only 25 minutes gone.
Rob Milsom looks like a great signing. I think we missed him on Tuesday night more than we have missed Paul Hartley when he was out suspended, we certainly never missed him today.
Was nice to see Big Josh Magennis getting his first SPL goal of the season. He certainly has the potential to be a big player for the Dons.
Chris Maguire and Rory McArdle also got on the Score sheet. McArdle has scored a few goals this season.
We were never really troubled by Kille and Jamie Langfield had very few saves to make.
This was a big win for us, a defeat today would make the top six almost impossible. What was more pleasing is this is not a team who are struggling down the bottom, Killie have done well and currently sit fourth in the SPL.
I said in the last blog that Craig Brown had to get the players playing like they were when he first arrived, and he did just that. 5-0 is our biggest win of the season and the whole team played well.
Aberdeen need to carry on the good work on Tuesday night when they play bottom of the table Hamilton.
This will be another tough game with Hamilton hoping to pull us back into the relegation dog fight.
I cannot see a massive crowd coming out for the game, especially if the weather conditions don't improve over the next few days, but hopefully we can play well despite the lack of atmosphere.
Stand Free
Scottie Vernon and Birthday Boy Sone Aluko had given us a nice cushion with only 25 minutes gone.
Rob Milsom looks like a great signing. I think we missed him on Tuesday night more than we have missed Paul Hartley when he was out suspended, we certainly never missed him today.
Was nice to see Big Josh Magennis getting his first SPL goal of the season. He certainly has the potential to be a big player for the Dons.
Chris Maguire and Rory McArdle also got on the Score sheet. McArdle has scored a few goals this season.
We were never really troubled by Kille and Jamie Langfield had very few saves to make.
This was a big win for us, a defeat today would make the top six almost impossible. What was more pleasing is this is not a team who are struggling down the bottom, Killie have done well and currently sit fourth in the SPL.
I said in the last blog that Craig Brown had to get the players playing like they were when he first arrived, and he did just that. 5-0 is our biggest win of the season and the whole team played well.
Aberdeen need to carry on the good work on Tuesday night when they play bottom of the table Hamilton.
This will be another tough game with Hamilton hoping to pull us back into the relegation dog fight.
I cannot see a massive crowd coming out for the game, especially if the weather conditions don't improve over the next few days, but hopefully we can play well despite the lack of atmosphere.
Stand Free
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Honeymoon is Over as Dons are Well Done
Once again Aberdeen failed to win in front of their home fans, as they were defeated 2-1 by Motherwell.
These are the games we need to be winning if we are going to be getting into the top 6 this season.
It all started well with a cracking goal by comeback kid Sone Aluko after three minutes. Motherwell then got the equalizer from Francis Jeffers. Things got worse for Aberdeen when Paul Hartley was stupidly sent off.
I though the Motherwell player Lasley should also have been shown a red card, with is assault on Hartley,
He jumped into Paul and caught him with an elbow, how Stuart McCall could say it was not even a foul is a joke, of course McCall played along side Mark Elbow's Hateley so is used to seeing this type of thuggery on the field.
Motherwell were the better team but seem to have that nasty streak, even if Lasley was not sent off there were numerous others who could have been, the ref really lost the plot.
But for Aberdeen we need to get back on track starting with 3 points against Killie on Saturday, failing to do so could see us dragged back into the relegation battle.
Aberdeen have in reality been poor for the last month, they did not play well against Dunfermline or ICT even though they won and even against Celtic in the 2nd and 3rd games looked poor at times.
Craig Brown must now try and get the confidence back and get us back to playing like we were when he first arrived. So Craig the Honeymoon is over, get your finger out and get the team playing the way we all know they can.
Stand Free
These are the games we need to be winning if we are going to be getting into the top 6 this season.
It all started well with a cracking goal by comeback kid Sone Aluko after three minutes. Motherwell then got the equalizer from Francis Jeffers. Things got worse for Aberdeen when Paul Hartley was stupidly sent off.
I though the Motherwell player Lasley should also have been shown a red card, with is assault on Hartley,
He jumped into Paul and caught him with an elbow, how Stuart McCall could say it was not even a foul is a joke, of course McCall played along side Mark Elbow's Hateley so is used to seeing this type of thuggery on the field.
Motherwell were the better team but seem to have that nasty streak, even if Lasley was not sent off there were numerous others who could have been, the ref really lost the plot.
But for Aberdeen we need to get back on track starting with 3 points against Killie on Saturday, failing to do so could see us dragged back into the relegation battle.
Aberdeen have in reality been poor for the last month, they did not play well against Dunfermline or ICT even though they won and even against Celtic in the 2nd and 3rd games looked poor at times.
Craig Brown must now try and get the confidence back and get us back to playing like we were when he first arrived. So Craig the Honeymoon is over, get your finger out and get the team playing the way we all know they can.
Stand Free
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Life after GBS
My MLS team Columbus Crew made some major changes in the pre season with a number of players including Guillermo Barros Schlotto and Frankie Hedjuk leaving the club.
Robert Warzycha decided a major clear out was the way forward following two disappointing play off campaigns since we won the MLS championship in 2008.
Many people including myself feel he has made too many changes at one time and the team may struggle to even make it to the play offs this year.
These feelings were not helped by the 2-1 defeat against expansion team Vancouver Whitecaps.
We were given a bit of hope in our latest pre season friendly when The Crew defeated Seattle 3-0 with Jeff Cunningham who returned to Columbus for a 2nd spell getting the third goal.
We will play Current Champs Colorado Rapids who include former Don Jamie Smith in their squad in our next warm up game on valentines day.
The real fun does not start till nearer the end of March but we have a massive tie coming up in the CONCACAF Champions League against Real Salt Lake, the first leg is at Crew Stadium on February 22nd.
The 2nd leg will take place March 1st at the Rio Tinto Stadium.
Stand Free
Robert Warzycha decided a major clear out was the way forward following two disappointing play off campaigns since we won the MLS championship in 2008.
Many people including myself feel he has made too many changes at one time and the team may struggle to even make it to the play offs this year.
These feelings were not helped by the 2-1 defeat against expansion team Vancouver Whitecaps.
We were given a bit of hope in our latest pre season friendly when The Crew defeated Seattle 3-0 with Jeff Cunningham who returned to Columbus for a 2nd spell getting the third goal.
We will play Current Champs Colorado Rapids who include former Don Jamie Smith in their squad in our next warm up game on valentines day.
The real fun does not start till nearer the end of March but we have a massive tie coming up in the CONCACAF Champions League against Real Salt Lake, the first leg is at Crew Stadium on February 22nd.
The 2nd leg will take place March 1st at the Rio Tinto Stadium.
Stand Free
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Under Par Dons leave it late.
When the draw for this round of the Scottish Cup was made and paired us with Dunfermline at Pittodrie, we know it was going to be a tough battle but one which we were capable of winning.
The game itself was a total bore and not a good advert for the Scottish game.
Chances were few and far between. I think both goalies could have set up deck chairs and had a cigar and read the Sunday papers for most of the game, although we did pile on the pressure in their box nearer the end.
The Pars almost got what it looked like they came for, a replay at home but thankfully Aberdeen got the goal in the last minute of injury time.
I have said before that these are the sort of games we were losing in the past, the team just seemed to give up if the going got tough.
I was just thinking Great another game to add to the 5 we played in just over 2 weeks, when the goal went in.
Aberdeen did not play well but looking at how Dunfermline played I don't think we deserved to get beat either. A draw probably would have been fair but I think we were the better team, especially in the second half.
The draw was made before the game so we knew whoever won would be facing an away trip to St Mirren in the next round.
Another chance to get to a Semi Final and repay us long suffering Dons fans.
One thing that was a nice change today was that we were playing someone other than Celtic, 3 games in 10 days is way to much, I think that is one argument for a bigger league and only playing each other twice in the league.
On a side note, I sometimes write articles for www.scotzine.com. I have an article in the latest edition you can read it online for one pound or buy the printed edition for 2 pounds. Check it out.
Stand Free
The game itself was a total bore and not a good advert for the Scottish game.
Chances were few and far between. I think both goalies could have set up deck chairs and had a cigar and read the Sunday papers for most of the game, although we did pile on the pressure in their box nearer the end.
The Pars almost got what it looked like they came for, a replay at home but thankfully Aberdeen got the goal in the last minute of injury time.
I have said before that these are the sort of games we were losing in the past, the team just seemed to give up if the going got tough.
I was just thinking Great another game to add to the 5 we played in just over 2 weeks, when the goal went in.
Aberdeen did not play well but looking at how Dunfermline played I don't think we deserved to get beat either. A draw probably would have been fair but I think we were the better team, especially in the second half.
The draw was made before the game so we knew whoever won would be facing an away trip to St Mirren in the next round.
Another chance to get to a Semi Final and repay us long suffering Dons fans.
One thing that was a nice change today was that we were playing someone other than Celtic, 3 games in 10 days is way to much, I think that is one argument for a bigger league and only playing each other twice in the league.
On a side note, I sometimes write articles for www.scotzine.com. I have an article in the latest edition you can read it online for one pound or buy the printed edition for 2 pounds. Check it out.
Stand Free
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Game over before it started
I was working today so was not able to hear the whole game. But having seen the highlights I have to say I think it was a very soft penalty and defintely not a red card. Yes there was contact but Brown did not start to go down till it looked like he was about to lose the ball.
Losing a player in the first minute was always going to be an uphill struggle, we did well until starting to tire towards the end when Celtic then added another two goals.
I am glad to see the back of Celtic and now we can get back on track against some of the other teams in the league.
Hopefully we can get a good run in the Scottish cup, we have a good chance with one of the old firm going out in this round and a tricky but winnable tie against Dunfermline on Sunday.
Stand Free
Losing a player in the first minute was always going to be an uphill struggle, we did well until starting to tire towards the end when Celtic then added another two goals.
I am glad to see the back of Celtic and now we can get back on track against some of the other teams in the league.
Hopefully we can get a good run in the Scottish cup, we have a good chance with one of the old firm going out in this round and a tricky but winnable tie against Dunfermline on Sunday.
Stand Free
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