Griff gives Broonie 10 in a woe
Leigh and Dundee off the mark as Dons slump
Dundee finally bagged their first Premiership win of the season as they piled on the misery for Aberdeen.
The Dark Blues had lost four games in a row before last night’s clash but this vital victory lifts them off the bottom of the table.
However, the result heaps more pressure on under-fire Dons boss Stephen Glass with Aberdeen now without a win in 10 matches and the large travelling support made their feelings known at full time.
Dundee opened the scoring in the 48th minute through on-loan Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths with his first goal for the Dark Blues.
And he had the last laugh on old Hoops pal Scott Brown who clashed with James McPake late on in a fiery end that saw the Dens boss and keeper coach Gordon Marshall both see red.
Dundee made it two shortly after Griff’s opener with Luke McCowan on the mark,
The Dons quickly pulled one back through Christian Ramirez but they failed to find a leveller.
Dundee had received a big boost before kick-off with the retur n f rom inju r y of talismanic skipper Charlie Adam and Griffiths although there were four unnamed players missing due to Covid.
Ryan Hedges and Funso Ojo came back into the Dons’ starting line-up for the first time since September.
The game kicked off at 6pm in a bid to boost international coverage and there was a quickfire chance. McCowan smashed a shot from the edge of the Aberdeen box with Dons keeper Gary Woods diving acrobatically to save.
Shortly after, Dons defender Declan Gallagher was less than happy with a Griffiths’ challenge and the centre-half confronted the striker before ref Colin Steven intervened.
Aberdeen created their first real opening in the 10th minute with Jack MacKenzie hitting an angled drive that home keeper Adam Legzdins comfortably held.
Hedges then had an opportunity when he found himself free in the Dundee box at a corner but he fluffed his lines and made a complete hash of his attempted shot.
Dark Blues winger Paul McMullan was next to try his luck, embarking on a lungbursting run from inside his own half before hitting a low shot from the edge of the Aberdeen box. But he dragged his effort wide of Woods’ right-hand post.
In the 27th minute, Adam lit up a cold evening when he produced a sublime piece of ski l l to create space for himself before hitting a superb cross-field pass to Griffiths but the striker hit his shot high and wide.
Aberdeen came storming back with Ramirez having a great diving header cleared off the Dundee line by Griffiths before Jonny Hayes hit a fierce long-range shot just wide.
There were still no goals as the referee brought a frenetic opening half to a close.
However, the deadlock was broken just three minutes after the restart.
McMullan was the provider with a searching cross-field pass to Griffiths in space on the right and the Parkhead striker made no mistake, taking his time before drilling a low shot past Woods.
Aberdeen looked for an instant response and Lewis Ferguson had a low 22-yard shot tipped wide for a corner by Legzdins.
Shortly after, Griffiths came off to a standing ovation from the home fans who were celebrating once more in the 62nd minute.
Dundee doubled their advantage through McCowan who hit a shot from the edge of the Aberdeen box past the despairing dive of Woods.
The Dons were in deep trouble but grabbed a lifeline just five minutes later when MacKenzie sent a low cross in from the left all the way to the back post with Ramirez turning the ball home from a tight angle.
As the clock ticked down and tempers started to boil over, Dons keeping coach Marshall and then McPake were both red carded and sent to the stand. However, once the dust had settled and 11 minutes of added-on time had ended, it was Dundee who had the points in the bag.