FREDDIE SAVES DAY FOR DONS
Woodman the hero as Aberdeen deny Killie to keep Scottish Cup bid alive and kicking
ABERDEEN’S season remains alive, kicking and heading for Hampden. On a painfully tense night settled by penalties, it was Derek McInnes’ side who held their nerve to prevail.
Kilmarnock had sought to pile pressure upon Pittodrie shoulders pre-match. The suggestion from within Rugby Park was that Aberdeen’s campaign would be holed below the waterline if they failed to reach the Scottish Cup last four.
McInnes denied it was quite that clear-cut. Even so, he knew full well the value of progression. A semi-final against Motherwell on April 14 now adds fresh impetus to their run-in.
They remain one of the few obstacles Steve Clarke’s Kilmarnock cannot overcome. This quarter-final replay was anything but pretty, yet that wouldn’t have been of the slightest bit of concern on the long coach journey back to the north-east.
Aberdeen showed character all right. Behind in extra time to Stephen O’Donnell’s goal, they secured the shoot-out thanks to a Kenny McLean penalty. When Freddie Woodman saved from Eamonn Brophy, Greg Taylor and Greg Kiltie, the Dons had their hero. The young English goalkeeper had, of course, been on loan at Kilmarnock last term.
Niall McGinn was the only taker in red who failed to convert, meaning hopes of going one better than last year’s Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic are still present and correct. The significant downside for McInnes is that Graeme Shinnie, Kenny McLean and Shay Logan will all be suspended against Motherwell after bookings picked up here.
Even so, the Pittodrie manager will hope that clearing this hurdle can now feed confidence into their league campaign. Last weekend’s drab draw with Partick Thistle left Aberdeen trailing second-placed Rangers by five points, albeit with a game in hand.
For Kilmarnock, this was a rare setback under Clarke. He was simply unable to lift a curse. The Ayrshire outfit have never beaten Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. And you have to go back to 2012 — some 19 games ago — to find a victory against the Dons in any tournament.
With a visit to Ibrox next up this Saturday, however, Kilmarnock have precious little time for navel-gazing.
The magnitude of the occasion was immediately obvious given the tension that gripped a pretty abject opening period. Clear chances were all but non-existent. Ragged physical clashes were not.
One more considered interchange did lead to a first sight of goal. Kris Boyd managed to elude Anthony O’Connor on the turn. Stretching to connect, however, he could only scuff in a left-foot shot that was comfortably gathered by Woodman.
Things weren’t much prettier at the other end. A deep cross from Gary Mackay-Steven was turned back by Ryan Christie, allowing Adam Rooney a strike that zipped over the bar.
Underneath all this was a simmering aggression. It finally bubbled to the surface in the 22nd minute. When Mackay-Steven toppled to the deck and trapped the ball between his legs, Rory McKenzie went in rucking-style to try to free it. The Kilmarnock winger had two or three goes before numerous players from both sides piled in to join a pushing match.
Steven McLean took his time. After consulting with assistant David Roome, the referee decided a yellow card for McKenzie was sufficient justice.
From there, the visitors enjoyed a little attacking flurry. It was as close as we got to any form of sustained pressure as play remained pock-marked by relentless fouling.
Christie’s cross could have been turned in by Andrew Considine before O’Donnell hooked clear at the far post. As Aberdeen again gathered possession, McLean’s 25-yard thump arrowed just wide of target. The midfielder would soon be cautioned for an apparent trip on McKenzie.
A hook over the top from new Scotland call-up Scott McKenna then ended 45 minutes of attrition. Neither goalkeeper had made a worthwhile save.
An injection of composure was desperately needed, but none arrived at the interval. It remained a narky, fractured match with little in the way of subtlety.
Three-quarters of Rugby Park hollered for a penalty — an act of optimism — after McKenna challenged Boyd in the area. In truth, the 21-year-old centre-back was performing with as much precision as anyone on the pitch. Aerial attacks were exactly what he wanted to repel. The midfield congestion was then comically summed up when Jordan Jones and McKenzie ended up tackling each other rather than the opposition.
Aberdeen’s flair players were faring little better. McGinn managed to force his way beyond Greg Taylor but was wayward with an attempted angled strike.
Something had to change and McInnes moved first by withdrawing Mackay-Steven for Stevie May.
It took until the 74th minute for the first really testing shot to arrive. Killie worked the ball from left to right and back again, with O’Donnell cutting infield to crack a powerful attempt that was beaten out by Woodman.
By now, Clarke had introduced Brophy to join Boyd up front. The home side were beginning to assert themselves more and more. Without scoring. Christie actually came closer for Aberdeen with a vicious strike fractionally wide. But there was an inevitability about extra time.
It opened brightly for the home side. Six minutes in, a cleared Aberdeen corner was collected by Jones and hoofed wide for Brophy to go up against Logan. The right-back was outmuscled and Brophy found he had O’Donnell racing up beside him. A simple, square pass allowed Killie’s right-back to thump into the net.
The jubilation didn’t last long. Seven minutes later, Kirk Broadfoot inexplicably pulled back May when the danger seemed fairly remote. McLean converted the penalty with aplomb. The midfielder very nearly followed up with one for his YouTube compilation when he thundered a 30-yard drive against the bar.
Jamie MacDonald then produced a spectacular save from an equally spectacular strike from Aberdeen substitute Chidi Nwakali.
But the visitors would edge through in the end.