ABERDEEN PASS THE TEST OF CHARACTER
Derek McInnes knew this opener against obdurate opponents would be a test of character for his players given the crushing disappointment of europa League elimination and a lack of recovery time.
It’s one they passed, if not quite with flying colours during a fiercely contested 90 minutes, then at least by showing the grit and determination allied to the ability to get the job done expected of last season’s runners-up.
However Hamilton, seemingly everyone’s favourites for relegation, stretched them to the limits of endurance at times despite playing with just ten men for the last half hour after Xavier Tomas was sent off.
The Frenchman, one of only two summer signings made by Accies manager Martin Canning, was dismissed for two yellow cards in the space of just ten minutes, the second for a senseless foul on ryan Christie.
To add to Canning’s frustration they conceded a simple set-piece goal for Anthony O’Connor’s 26th-minute opener while Miles storey’s last-minute contribution from the bench simply increased the agony ahead of a Betfred Cup rematch at the superseal stadium on Wednesday.
On the plus side for Accies, Aberdeen have only won there once in the last six visits but their players should be better rested by then and McInnes will have fresher options to pick from after rotating the squad for this game.
Mark reynolds, Greg stewart and Gary Mackay-steven dropped to the bench while Jayden stockley was suspended with kari Arnason, Greg Tansey, nicky Maynard and scott Wright given starts in a shaken-up Aberdeen side.
It’s no surprise that McInnes made four changes to the side knocked out of the europa League last Thursday night — given the physically and mentally draining 2-0 defeat in the gruelling heat of Larnaca.
The Aberdeen manager rejected a lucrative move to sunderland earlier in the summer because of unfinished business at Pittodrie and going beyond the third round of qualifying in european competition was one such ambition.
There was no hiding his disappointment that they failed to achieve that, in what McInnes remains convinced was a tie against Apollon Limassol they really should have progressed from.
What he was equally certain of, though, is that winning these more mundane matches are crucial if they are going to continue the form that saw them finish runners-up to Celtic’s Invincibles in all three domestic competitions last season.
The signs are that even with the recent loss of key figures like ryan Jack, niall McGinn and Jonny Hayes, they do still have too much quality for the likes of Hamilton to deal with even when not exactly flowing.
It certainly helps that they can call on the services of ryan Christie for the entire season as part of the deal that took Hayes to Parkhead — as the on-loan midfielder looks a class act and is always capable of producing something special.
That much was evident with a cute free-kick that nearly caught Gary Woods out at his near post, a run that set up kenny McLean with a chance that should have been taken and a delicious reverse pass to release Wright.
Then there was an outrageous attempt to lob Woods from 35 yards after the goalkeeper miscued a clearance into midfielder Christie’s path before crashing a shot against the crossbar, all before the interval.
The only surprise was that the 22-year-old played no part in the opening goal as Tansey curled in a free-kick from the left for O’Connor’s glancing header which was perfectly placed just inside the far post.
To lose a set-piece goal must have been particularly painful for Canning after seeing his side defend aggressively, perhaps too much so at times, as they attempted to knock Aberdeen out of their stride.
Wright, in particular, came in for
some rough treatment resulting in a yellow card for Georgios Sarris, although he wasn’t the only one to find the youngster’s pace difficult to deal with.
Not only quick but also direct, as he showed with a wonderful, penetrating run in 34 minutes climaxed with a powerful drive from the edge of the penalty area that Woods could only parry away.
The winger also played a vital role in creating the opening that ended with Christie’s slightly off-balance shot smacking clear off the crossbar but every team is always vulnerable with a single-goal lead.
That’s why McInnes will be delighted by the ability and concentration Joe Lewis continues to show in goal when Hamilton created only their second chance of the first half seconds before the break.
Dougie Imrie struck the ball sweetly from the edge of the penalty area and the previously underemployed goalkeeper sprang high to his left to fingertip the ball away to safety to keep his side in front.
It was tough enough for the visitors to get back on to level terms with 11 players on the pitch, but it always looked beyond them when summer signing Tomas foolishly got himself sent off with nearly half an hour to go.
The Frenchman picked up two bookings, both for fouls on Christie, with the one that earned the red card absolutely crazy given the position he and the team were in. Hamilton were asking questions of an Aberdeen side where Arnason looked far from comfortable at the back but Tomas walked in 62 minutes picking up a second caution for taking out Christie who was only just inside opposition territory.
The men he left behind reacted positively to limit the damage but who knows what they might have done if they had stayed at full strength — as a tired home side largely failed to exploit that advantage.
Shay Logan saw a sweetlystruck volley saved by Woods who went on to parry a shot from Wright, with Graeme Shinnie putting the rebound the wrong side of the post of a gaping goal, while Maynard was also guilty of a poor miss.
The former Bristol City striker rounded Woods but substitute Massimo Donati got back to deny him a goal with a sliding clearance but, right at the death, another introduction from the Aberdeen bench sealed the result.
Storey didn’t have the best of debut seasons at Pittodrie but he will be feeling a lot better after curling in a sublime finish in the last minute to double his overall tally since joining from Caley Thistle.