Hibernian 0 - 0 Aberdeen

Aberdeen recorded their seventh no scoring draw of the season, but this was the first away from Pittodrie. The closest we came to a goal in the first half was when Griffiths broke one-on-one with Jamie Langfield. The keeper spread himself well and made a fine save. After the break Hibs had the upper hand and Jamie Langfield made a couple of important stops to maintain a clean sheet. When Langfield was beaten the woodwork denied Doyle but at the other end Aberdeen created little and a shot from Johnnie Hayes, which was comfortably handled by Williams, was the closest they came. The Pittodrie faithful will be hoping for more of a cutting edge when Kilmarnock make the trip north on Saturday.

Hibs kicked off, but no one managed to carve out a chance in the opening minutes despite some early probing by both teams. In the 5th minute Magennis fed Hayes, but his cross failed to find a colleague in the centre. Neither side could get any fluency into their play at this stage as both managers screamed instructions from the technical areas. Hibs won the first corner of the match in the 11th minute, but they failed to threaten and seconds later the home side were trying to claim for the softest penalty of the season. Fortunately referee McLean was unimpressed, but a minute later a Griffiths attempted an audacious overhead kick that failed to test Langfield.

Milsom collected the first yellow card of the game in the 15th minute following a poorly timed challenge on Thomson. A minute later Aberdeen won their opening corner of the game and the secondary ball was headed wide by Hayes. Seconds later Hayes slipped when he had a half chance inside the box. Shaughnessy was threatening with his long throw, but the Hibs defence were dealing well with the tactic. Williams was quick off his line in the 22nd minute as Magennis drove forward and a minute later Langfield spread himself well to deny Griffiths as the Hibs danger man went one-on-one with the Dons keeper.

Griffiths was given another opportunity in the 26th minute, but he fired wide. The Dons couldn't afford to give the striker too many of these chances. A minute later Aberdeen won a second corner following a mix up at the back, but the cross went out of play before reaching the danger area. Anderson had to look lively in the 32nd minute as he sliced the ball clear from the danger area. Hibs were quickly back on the attack, but the Dons defence had regained their composure and cleared their lines.

A third Dons corner in the 39th minute was comfortably cleared by McPake, but a minute later a spell of decent possession set up McGinn. Unfortunately his effort was charged down and Magennis was unable to collect the loose ball. Two minutes from the interval Jack was caught in possession and Thomson strode forward but failed to find the target. Hayes then worked himself into a decent position, but once again the final ball was poor and that pretty much summed up the first half.

Aberdeen had any early chance after the interval with another long throw, but again Hibs were comfortable and at the other end Langfield was forced into another fine save from Handling. In the 51st minute Robertson had to look lively as he intercepted a cross to concede a corner. The set play came to nothing, but the home side were enjoying the better of the exchanges at this stage. Four minutes later there was a real let-off for the Dons as a Doyle effort crashed off the upright as the visitor's defence started to creak.

Another Hibs corner was wasted and at the other end an Aberdeen free kick did little to raise the pulses as Milsom fired wide. Another free kick was wasted when Hayes played the ball short to McGinn and the Dons top scorer was dispossessed. As Hibs broke Griffiths set up Thomson, but his effort went well wide of Langfield's goal and at the other end Hayes finally tested Williams in the Hibs goal, but the keeper held comfortably. In the 68th minute Aberdeen made a double substitution as Vernon and Pawlett replaced Magennis and Milsom.

Pawlett almost made an immediate impact as he appeared to win a corner only for the referee to award a goal kick. Hibs broke well in the 73rd minute when Handling released Griffiths and his cross found Harris. Fortunately Shaughnessy was alert and made an important block. A minute later Vernon was penalised as a Jack free kick was floated into the Hibs box. At the other end Hibs won another corner and Pawlett was forced to clear a Handling effort off the line before the second corner was cleared. Hibs were now pushing for the winner as it certainly looked like this could be decided by a single goal.

Both sides were giving away cheap possession at this stage, but Hayes managed to break in the 83rd minute. Unfortunately his cross was intercepted as Vernon looked set to get his head on the ball. This was one of the few occasions that Aberdeen had managed to get in behind the Hibs defence. At the other end Vernon cleared a free kick before Langfield made another fine save as he turned a Griffiths shot round his post. The corner was cleared by Robertson and with a few minutes remaining Fallon replaced Hayes.

Harris caused problems for Aberdeen before whipping in a teasing cross. It looked as if the ball went out for a Hibs corner but the referee awarded a goal kick and then spoke with Pat Fenlon who was robustly contesting the decision. The fourth official indicated two minutes of injury time and in the first minute Pawlett had a pot at goal, but the effort was comfortably gathered by Williams. Neither side could break the deadlock and the game petered out for another no scoring draw.