Alex Miller is beginning to make his mark at Aberdeen as the club head for
Premier Division safety.
The former Coventry assistant manager replaced Roy Aitken as Pittodrie boss at
the end of November after a 5-0 grubbing by Dundee United had hastened the
latter's departure.
This was Miller's sixth match in charge and, for only the second time this
season, the Dons have chalked up back-to-back league victories.
Miller has good reason to smile and so has striker Dean Windass. He was sent
off in that 5-0 drubbing by United which saw him serve a six-match suspension.
It appeared his days might have been numbered at the club but Miller has given
him another chance in the last two weeks.
Windass followed his goal in the 3-0 victory against Motherwell with a
26th-minute winner today.
It was his seventh goal of the season and he was always a threat to a hesitant
United defence.
Miller would have been just as pleased at getting the three points with
keeping a clean sheet for the second successive week.
And this latest shut out gave Jim Leighton good cause for celebration
following the award of an MBE in this week's honours list.
Aberdeen are now four points clear of bottom club Hibs but United could well
get trapped in the relegation quicksand.
Manager Tommy McLean made four changes to the side that lost to Rangers last
week but they looked second rate all afternoon.
Miller was unable to play Michael O'Neill, signed on a three-month loan deal
from Coventry, because his clearance did not come through in time.
But no matter, Aberdeen dominated and the only time Leighton was troubled came
just before half time when he did superbly well to turn away a thumping 25-yard
shot from Lars Zetterlund.
Aberdeen almost took the lead in the 12th minute when Eoin Jess saw a 20-yard
shot, hit with the outside of his boot, come back off the bar after a mix up
between Magnus Skoldmark and keeper Sieb Dykstra.
Windass made the breakthrough with Jess starting the move. He fed the ball to
Stephen Glass on the left and his pass across the face of the penalty area
evaded the United defence.
Windass was left in the clear to tuck the ball beyond Dykstra and leave United
deflated.
Billy Dodds should have added a second seven minutes before the break but
delivered a free header onto the bar after the impressive Glass had supplied the
cross.
United manager Tommy McLean brought on strikers Andy McLaren and Gary McSwegan
in the second half for Ray McKinnon and Dave Bowman in a bid to try and turn
things round.
But Aberdeen always looked likely to add to their lead with Ilian Kiriakov
finding the side netting after a good run and Dodds directing a header straight
into keeper Dykstra's arms after a fine cross from Jess.
Dodds almost got a second right on the stroke of full-time when he got away
from Mark Perry only to steer a 25-yard shot marginally past the post.
Teams
Aberdeen: Leighton, Anderson, Kiriakov, O'Neil, Whyte, Smith,
Bernard, Jess, Windass, Dodds, Glass.
Subs Not Used: Newell, Rowson, Gillies.
Booked: Kiriakov.
Goals: Windass 26.
Dundee Utd: Dykstra, Jonsson, Malpas, Pressley, Perry, Skoldmark,
Olofsson, Zetterlund (Duffy 84), Winters, Bowman (McSwegan 66),
McKinnon (McLaren 45).
Booked: Jonsson, Bowman, McKinnon.
Att: 17,025
Ref: K Clark (Paisley).
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