Rooney turns Aberdeen pressure into vital points

Adam Rooney’s second-half goal proved enough for Aberdeen to see off Partick Thistle in the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership.

Rooney netted the vital goal from close range just after the hour mark to keep the gap to leaders Celtic to eight points at a snowy Pittodrie.

Derek Mcinnes’ men were looking to get back to winning ways after defeat to the league leaders at the weekend and they started strongly.

The Dons looked comfortable against a side who had only hoisted themselves from the bottom of the table at the weekend, but the Jags defence proved tough to break down.

The scores remained level at the interval, but it took some fine defending to stop Ryan Christie giving the home side the lead five minutes after the restart.

Shay Logan lofted a pass over the Thistle defence for Christie to run on to and he cutely lifted the ball over onrushing keeper Tomas Cerny, only for Ryan Edwards to chase back and hook the effort behind for a corner.

But that only delayed the inevitable, and Aberdeen’s pressure finally paid dividends.

This time it was Christie who twisted and turned inside the penalty area, before cutting back for Rooney, who could hardly have missed from two yards.

Aberdeen: Lewis, Logan, O’connor, Mckenna, Considine (Reynolds 87), Shinnie, Mclean, Stewart (Ball 88), Christie, Mackay-steven (Wright 72), Rooney. Unused subs – Arnason, Rogers, Harvie, Frank Ross.

Partick: Cerny, Turnbull, Keown, Devine, Lawless (Storey 57), Mcginn, Edwards, Mccarthy (Nisbet 76), Barton, Spittal, Sammon. Unused subs: Nitriansky, wilson, Scully. Att: 14,830. Ref: Euan Anderson.