Assumptions are the mother of all …
By: TheNorthernLight | January 5th, 2009I’m surprised I’ve not been flamed yet for the outrageous claims I made in the preview to Aberdeen’s fixture against the Accies earlier. You may recall that I confidently predicted a win for the Reds, based on our superior form and the league position of the opposition. Even factoring in the flu bug and the impact on team selection, I really thought we’d do the inevitable and, well – win.
Assumptions, as we all know, are the mothers of all cock-ups, and so it proved for Aberdeen as they crashed to a terrible 2-0 defeat. The team put out by Calderwood had to do without Considine, Hodgkiss (a player I doubt we’ll see again in a red shirt this season as his club, West Bromwich Albion, are demanding a fee for the young right-back to keep him at Pittodrie), Young and Duff, while Mulgrew, Smith and Wright are still out injured. Nevertheless, the team we did put out had it’s fair share of first team regulars. Langfield, Mair, Diamond, Severin, Kerr, McDonald, Aluko, Mackie and Miller all made it through the flu-bug scare.
Thankfully for the large support that made the journey south from Aberdeen, the game survived a late pitch inspection by referee Stephen Finnie (who also narrowed the pitch to avoid the frozen bitties left by a failure in part of the undersoil heating) but I suspect that many in the red end of the ground would have wished this game had been canceled after all.
Those who made the journey where subjected to a lackluster affair by Aberdeen, a game in which the first half was completely forgettable, and the second half had one moment of controversy and one of some lovely play by the Accies. In the 50th minute, Diamonds tackle on McCarthy on the edge of the area was initially rewarded with a free kick by referee Finnie, but following a consultation with linesman Baxter (no doubt making up for flagging that Rangers goal offside at Pittodrie earlier in the season) decided to award a penalty kick. Mensing converted to give the Accies a 1-0 lead. Diamond was again tricked by young McCarthy 20 minutes later, allowing the ball to get through to Offiong who then flicked the ball past Scott Severing before blasting it past Langfield.
2-0 was how it finished, but despite results not exactly going our way (United getting a point after a spirited fight-back against Celtic, while Hearts and Hibs could only manage a draw) we remain in 5th spot. The win lifts Hamilton off the bottom of the league, the an honour now held by Inverness Caley.
The Reds next face Alloa in the Scottish Cup on Saturday. With only domestic silverware and European football to play for now, it’s a game the Dons have to win. Based on Saturday’s lacklustre performance, Calderwood has his work cut out to motivate his players. I dare not say it, but really, I expect another comfortable victory ..
Category: Team News
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