Devlin lifts Accies well out of danger
ABERDEEN battered Hamilton for much of this Shrove Tuesday showdown but few Accies fans were giving a toss about that last night as the two Lanarkshire sides flipped places in the Premiership table.
This fine win, courtesy of an early Michael Devlin goal and secured with just 10 men after the late dismissal of Darian MacKinnon, was just Accies’ fourth Ladbrokes Premiership victory of the season, but it completed an enviable home double against the Pittodrie side.
Not only did it mean that they warmed up for their Scottish Cup visit to Ibrox on Saturday with a win, more importantly the three points moved them off the foot of the table. One of the three teams they leapfrogged as they climbed to ninth was managerless Motherwell.
“That’s probably the game this season that we’ve been on the back foot and under the most pressure,” admitted Accies manager Martin Canning.
“Obviously Aberdeen had a lot of opportunities to put the ball into the box but I thought defensively we were magnificent.”
“I probably can’t remember a game where we’ve created as many chances and came away with nothing,” said his opposite number Derek McInnes, who lost two key men to injury.
“Mark Reynolds has been struggling with a wee bit of a groin problem and we think it might have developed into a hernia, so he’ll be out for four weeks, I’d imagine.
“Ryan Jack’s one is down to the surface. It’s quite high up on the ankle and that’s a worry as well. So it has been a sore night. We have lost the game and got a couple of injuries that are going to keep people out.”
Aberdeen might have missed the chance to open up a 12-point chasm on Rangers but second place seems safe enough. More depressing for their supporters was succumbing to a Groundhog Day of sorts at a venue where they have won just once in their last six visits.
The home side’s success was made even more notable by the lengthy injury list with which manager Martin Canning had to contend. He was deprived of Alex D’Acol – who scored the winner here between these teams back in October – in addition to Jesus Garcia Tena, Darren Lyon, Louis Longridge and Shaun Want.
Aberdeen travelled in the knowledge that their recent record at New Douglas Park was poor and it transpired that Accies had some more trouble in store for them. Only nine minutes were on the clock when referee Steven McLean brought the play back for a late Ryan Christie challenge on Georgios Sarris some 40 yards out. What advantage Accies had gained appeared uncertain until Danny Redmond swung over a free kick and Devlin held off Ash Taylor cleverly to hook in a neat finish.
Aberdeen had fought back to win from a goal down on an artificial surface against Kilmarnock recently and there was a decent reaction here too.
Rooney went close from a corner then even closer from a Niall McGinn cross, his header beating Accies keeper Gary Woods but bouncing back off a post.
Crosses flew across the Accies box, McGinn volleyed wide from a promising position shortly afterwards, Taylor blasted over, and Sarris got a last-gasp block to defy Shay Logan but somehow the Accies goal remained intact until the break.
The injured Reynolds left the fray for Peter Pawlett at half time, a move which facilitated Graeme Shinnie slotting in at left back and Andrew Considine – on the night he moved into the top 10 of all-time Aberdeen appearance makers moving to centre back.
Kenny McLean stung the palms of Gary Woods but for all their dominance of territory and possession Aberdeen weren’t creating enough clear-cut chances.
Devlin headed one away from under his cross bar, and Storey saw a ‘goal’ ruled out for offside before two bookings in the space of a minute, both for crude fouls on McKinnon on the onrushing Shinnie, earned the midfielder his marching orders, but he was missing the cup match in Govan on Saturday anyway.
After grimly holding on against the odds, Accies fans were rightly jubilant at the end of this one. It put the tin lid on a fairly bleak day to be a Motherwell fan.