Aberdeen 1 - 1 Dundee

Aberdeen once again failed to take three points from Dundee at Pittodrie and Jimmy Calderwood will look at it as two points lost rather than one gained. The Dons made the worst possible start when Dundee grabbed the lead in the second minute through John Sutton. The Dons levelled just before half time through Markus Heikkinen. After hitting the woodwork twice in the opening half the Dons dominated the second but couldn't find a way past the Dark Blues defence. The visitors were reduced to ten men in the 73rd minute but were able to hold on to their point.

Aberdeen made a disastrous start when Dundee grabbed the lead after two minutes. A Fotheringham free kick caused chaos in the Dons defence with Preece blocking the first effort before Sutton followed up to prod the ball into the net. The referee appeared to have a doubt about the validity of the strike but after consulting with his assistant the goal was awarded. Aberdeen went close to equalising in the fifth minute when Anderson headed an Adams delivery on to the upright. Two minutes later McGuire steered a header wide as Adams once again supplied the ammunition.

Dundee went close again in the 10th minute when Fotheringham fired a well-worked free kick over the bar before Soutar made a desperate save two minutes later when he stretched a hand out to clear a Tosh cross with Craig waiting to pounce. McNaughton caused a few nervous flutters in the 19th minute with a wayward pass back that eluded Preece and almost sneaked in at the far post. Two minutes later the Dons defence was under pressure again and Preece was forced to save another Sutton effort.

Fotheringham was yellow carded for an off the ball incident before Tosh went close with a half volley that scraped the post. Sutton should have done better a minute later but delayed allowing Anderson to make a challenge. The resulting corner forced Preece into another save as Dundee continued to threaten. A snap shot from Adams on the half hour mark sailed well wide then three minutes later Aberdeen hit the woodwork again when Craig looped an Anderson knock down on to the bar. Seconds later McGuire forced Soutar into a save as Aberdeen looked for an elusive equaliser.

The Dons did finally level three minutes from the interval and it came in controversial circumstances. Markus Heikkinen grabbed his second goal for the club adding to his earlier goal against Dundee. The ball appeared to hit his hand as a free kick came into the box but he then turned to prod the ball into the net to pull the Dons back into the net. To be fair there was little protest from the Dundee players and the goal was probably deserved at that stage.

Aberdeen started the second half positively and a good flowing move in the opening minutes came to a sudden halt with a poor delivery from Hart. The fullback almost made up for it minutes later when he did well to hit the bye line but his delivery was easily cut out by the keeper. The first real chance of the half fell to Severin who shot narrowly wide from the left hand side with Soutar beaten. There were loud appeals for handball three minutes later when Sancho kept Craig at bay inside the six-yard box but play raged on. Aberdeen were now pressing hard and it took some desperate defending to keep the Dons at bay.

Heikkinen almost added a second in the 61st minute when he found space inside the box and his low drive flashed across the face of the goal. As Aberdeen looked to be the more likely to score Dundee went very close in the 63rd minute when McGuire almost turned the ball past Preece. Fortunately the keeper turned the ball on to the post and gathered at the second attempt. Dundee had settled now after absorbing the early pressure and in the 67th minute Mackie replaced Foster. He made an immediate impact when he released Tosh on the right and Soutar got the merest of touches to the cross to deny the onrushing Craig.

In the 73rd minute Fotheringham received his second yellow card of the match for stamping on Heikkinen and made the long walk to the dressing room. A minute later Aberdeen looked to have won a penalty when Severin was bundled over. McCurry pointed to the spot but the far side assistant had already flagged for offside. Pasquinelli then replaced Hart and Caballero replaced Sutton as both teams went for the win. Pasquinelli should have grabbed his first goal in the 80th minute when he rose to head an Adams cross but steered the effort wide of the target. A minute later he forced a save from the keeper as Dundee continued to keep the home side out.

In a final roll of the dice Calderwood took Muirhead on for Craig in the 83rd minute. With four minutes remaining McGuire headed a Severin cross wide of the target as the Dons searched for the winner. Soutar then easily gathered a Mackie header in the 89th minute and despite a series of corner kicks in the closing stages Aberdeen couldn't find a way past ten man Dundee.