Steve Paterson earned his first win as Aberdeen manager as Dundee saw two men dismissed in the 2-1 defeat at Dens Park.

Dark Blues defender Lee Wilkie earned two yellow cards in the final minute of the goalless first period before Dons defender Phil McGuire grabbed the opener five minutes after the break.

Dundee defender Barry Smith then put through his own goal in the 64th minute before Steven Milne struck a consolation with three minutes remaining.

Dons striker Leon Mike should have secured a 3-1 win for the visitors after Jonay Hernandez became the second player to be sent off for a foul on the forward in the area.

But the former Manchester City man saw his penalty saved by Julian Speroni.

But the game had effectively won with the dismissal of Scotland international Wilkie.

Firstly, he almost halved Chris Clark with a cynical bodycheck and then dithered on the ball and reacted furiously to a late challenge from Scott Michie.

The Dons should have opened the scoring after 12 minutes when some scrappy defending allowed McGuire a clear sight of goal.

Two powerful shots towards Speroni were blocked by Dundee players but the third attempt fell to McGuire, who was standing eight yards from goal.

The defender was unmarked but leaned back too much and the ball sailed high over the bar, when it looked easier to score.

Dundee should have taken the lead in the 21st minute when Steve Lovell found himself through one-on-one with David Preece.

He picked up on a pass from Fabian Caballero and raced clear of the Dons' defence into the left-hand side of the penalty area.

Once inside the box, he drew the goalkeeper and tried to put the ball beyond him.

However, he over-hit his effort and it flew wide.

Wilkie then entered into two minutes of madness that resulted in him being ordered from the field.

He was booked for a cynical foul on Clark after the Aberdeen youngster danced past the Scotland squad man but was felled when the Dundee man simply stood in front of him blocking his path.

Just a minute later, Wilkie was red-carded for his part in an ugly clash with Michie.

The Dark Blues defender delayed on the ball for too long allowing D'Jaffo to close him down.

Young Michie then put in a wild challenge on him, causing the Dundee player to react.

Referee Ian Brines stepped in to part the two players before cautioning Michie and giving Wilkie his second yellow card.

Aberdeen attacked from the very start of the second half, buoyed by the dismissal and scored their first goal under new manager Paterson after 50 minutes.

Eric Deloumeaux whipped in a corner from the right for McGuire, who sprinted in front of his marker and knocked a simple header into the net.

Then, in the 64th minute, Mackie picked up the ball on the right and played a low cross along the face of goal.

Smith was under pressure from Michie to clear the ball but only succeeded in knocking it past Speroni and into the net.

Dundee hit a late consolation through substitute Milne when the young striker found himself unmarked in the Aberdeen box after the Dons defence was caught sleeping and stroked the ball past Preece.

A minute later, the home side had their second player ordered off when Hernandez swiped out at Mike inside the area.

However, Mike saw his penalty saved although it did not stop Paterson celebrating his first win and goals in charge of the team.

Teams:

Dundee Speroni, Smith, Wilkie, Khizanishvili, Hernandez Santos, Brady, Rae, Mair, Novo (Milne 67), Caballero (Robb 75), Lovell (Robertson 58).

Subs Not Used: Langfield, Hutchinson.

Sent Off: Wilkie (45), Hernandez Santos (90).

Booked: Smith, Wilkie, Novo, Robertson.

Goals: Milne 87.

Aberdeen Preece, Rutkiewicz, Anderson, McGuire, McNaughton, Tiernan, Deloumeaux, Clark, McAllister (Mackie 57), Derek Young (Michie 29), D'Jaffo (Mike 77).

Subs Not Used: Esson, O'Donoghue.

Booked: McNaughton, Michie, D'Jaffo, Preece.

Goals: McGuire 50, Smith 64 og.

Att: 8,574

Ref: I Brines (Scotland).