DITHERING DONS AVOID SHOCK
Spirited Dundee are denied as Aberdeen recover to scramble a dramatic victory
WE didn’t quite get the shock result that a weekend of League Cup scares and shrieks was screaming out for. But make no mistake. Dundee definitely put a bad case of the frighteners on Aberdeen at Dens Park yesterday.
That the Dons were eventually big and brave enough to progress to a quarter-final at Tynecastle, courtesy of a stoppage-time equaliser and extra-time winner, is to their credit.
But the fact that they were able to squeak past their Championship opponents shouldn’t mask the horror of their performance for most of the afternoon.
Dundee deserved the lead they carved out through a Danny Johnson penalty just before half-time. In truth, James McPake’s men might have been further in front long before the end of regulation time.
Having been awful for 90 minutes and 19 seconds, however, the visitors found a way to stay alive.
Twenty seconds into the four minutes of time added on, Andrew Considine — hardly an unlikely goal hero, given his hat-trick here in 2017 — stabbed the ball home to force an extra half-hour of play.
Sam Cosgrove then powered home a header to effectively win the game two minutes before half-time in extra-time, leaving Dundee to rue the missed chances that contributed to one enormous opportunity lost.
They had been the better side and, in 16-year-old Finlay Robertson, they had the class footballer on the pitch.
But they were ultimately punished for not putting away visitors who looked jaded, leggy and lacking in energy following Thursday night’s Europa League disappointment at Pittodrie.
Derek McInnes (below) would have been aware that fatigue was a danger but, with Craig Bryson making a first start in midfield in place of the suspended Lewis Ferguson, he hoped for a much better start than he got here.
Aberdeen posed next to no threat in the final third, with their most dangerous moment — literally — coming when Cosgrove was booked for a swinging arm on Josh Kerr after 15 minutes.
McPake’s men, set up with five across midfield and gaps kept to a minimum, were not going to succumb to anything so blunt. And the Dons were anything but sharp. When the hosts launched their own attacks, they had a certain something about them. A directness that kept the red-shirted defenders in a constant state of alarm, repeatedly scrambling to cover fresh dangers.
Josh Todd might have done better than to head Jordan Marshall’s deep cross beyond the post with 17 minutes gone while, a few minutes later, Johnson came that bit closer, hitting the upright after rolling Considine on the edge of the box.
Dundee had a decent penalty shout after 35 minutes, a Kerr cross kicking up off the surface to hit Funso Ojo on what looked like the left arm.
And a Todd cross that flashed across the goalmouth without being converted by not one but two Dundee players served as a reminder of their threat.
Two minutes before the break, they were gifted the chance to take the lead that their overall play had deserved.
Awarded a free-kick just inside the Aberdeen half, the Dark Blues sent the big men forward, Jamie Ness floated the ball into the danger zone and Jordon Forster went down, with Considine’s arms around his midriff.
Referee Willie Collum gave the penalty, which Johnson tucked away. It was his third goal of the season — all of them coming from the penalty spot.
Aberdeen did rouse themselves into something more like a Premiership side after the break, at least creating a handful of half-chances. Cosgrove was making better runs, getting himself in the right position to do damage, while both Ryan Hedges and Jon Gallagher should have done better after carving opening sights on goal. The huge away support behind Joe Lewis’ goal were actually celebrating, too, when a Gallagher header — a quick reaction from a blocked shot by sub Connor McLennan — seemed destined for the back of the home net, only for Forster to make a brilliant block on the line.
That chance came seven minutes from time. Not quite late enough to be a last hurrah, as it transpired.
Step forward Considine, hammer of the Dee. His scrambled effort from a yard may not have been beautiful — but it would have looked like a masterpiece to McInnes.
Accepted wisdom in these ties is that lower-league sides don’t get two chances to kill the big boys. That they had best get the job done quickly, or risk losing everything.
There is a reason why so many hold this truth to be self-evident — as Cosgrove reminded Dundee after 103 minutes of toil and struggle.
Scott McKenna popped up on the left wing, sending Greg Leigh to the bye-line with a lovely weighted pass and the full-back’s
curling cross was met with a typical power header from the striker shouldering so much of the scoring burden for the Dons.
It was a cruel blow to the hosts, who had sniffs of potential chances as the game raged and roared to its conclusion.
Were Aberdeen lucky, then? Maybe. But they stared into the terror of the abyss for a long time yesterday and did not flinch.
Sometimes, being brave is just enough.
DUNDEE (4-5-1): Hamilton 7; Kerr 7, Forster 7, McGhee 6, Marshall 6; Todd 6 (Meekings 86), Ness 6 (McGowan 74), Robertson 7 (Moore 97), Byrne 6, McDaid 6; Johnson 7 (Nelson 62). Subs not used: Ferrie, Anderson, Cunningham. Booked: McDaid, Forster. ABERDEEN (4-2-3-1): Lewis 7; Logan 6, Considine 7, McKenna 6, Leigh 6; Ojo 6, Bryson 6 (Campbell 62); Hedges (Wilson 65), Gallagher (Vyner 119), McGinn 5 (McLennan 56); Cosgrove 6. Subs not used: Cerny, Wright, Main. Booked: Logan, Considine, Bryson, Cosgrove. Man of the match: Danny Johnson. Referee: Willie Collum. Attendance: 5,740.