Moroccan fever hit Aberdeen on Monday as the Dons finally overcame bogey team
Dundee United in an action-packed game which saw three penalties, two of which
were brilliantly saved by the keepers.
The Dons victory came courtesy of their Moroccan contingent as both Hicham
Zerouali and Rachid Belabed scored goals in this epic encounter.
Aberdeen went on the attack right from the start, and won a corner in the
opening minute.
Andy Dow's cross was flicked on and Dons defender Derek Whyte's left-foot shot
was cleared off the line by Bernard Pascual.
The home side kept pushing forward and on five minutes only a superb block by
United keeper Alan Combe denied Zerouali his first goal for the Dons, after he
had played a quick interchange with Arild Stavrum and burst into space through
the Dons defence.
Dundee Utd then missed a chance for the opener on 13 minutes when David Hannah
lifted his header too high after getting on to the end of a Jason De Vos cross.
Aberdeen were soon back on the attack though, and on 17 minutes Zerouali burst
into the box before setting up Stavrum with an angled ball, but much to the
Moroccan's surprise the ball rebounded off his team-mate and back to his feet,
but before Zerouali had time to think Combe had cleared off the line with his
feet.
Combe again came to the rescue after he sprinted from his box to block at the
feet of Zerouali after Eoin Jess had set him free.
Despite Aberdeen's constant pressure, United took the lead on 26 minutes.
Pascual tried a shot which was going nowhere, and David Hannah picked the ball
up 10 yards out and had the time to control it before smashing a shot past Jim
Leighton.
The game then slowed down for a while with neither side creating a shooting
opportunity, but on 39 minutes Stavrum did well in the United area with his back
to goal, but Craig Easton cleared the danger.
With time in the first half running out, the Dons won three corners corners in
the space of a couple of minutes but all proved fruitless.
With the first half in injury time Aberdeen pulled level. Jess sent Andy Dow
clear on the left and his cross was headed home by Zerouali to send the home
fans wild.
United were first to have an attempt at goal in the second half, with Easton
firing a shot inches wide of Leighton's left-hand post.
On 54 minutes United missed an excellent chance to go back in front. Cato
Guntveit pulled Joaquim Ferraz's shirt inside the area, and referee Douglas
McDonald had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Hannah stepped up to take
the kick, but Leighton dived brilliantly to his left to block the shot.
Aberdeen almost made United pay for that miss, but Russell Anderson's header
from Dow's cross was well saved by Combe.
On 74 minutes there was penalty drama again when David Partridge handled the
ball inside the area and the referee again pointed to the spot. Andy Dow
stepped up for the spot kick, which Combe saved well by pushing the ball behind
the post.
From the resultant corner United only half-cleared their lines and Belabed
struck a cracking 25-yarder into the net to put the Dons ahead.
Aberdeen kept pushing forward and in the last minute grabbed goal number three
via yet another penalty. Pascual was adjudged to have fouled Belabed as he went
up for a challenge inside the box, and Stavrum placed the ball well into the
left-hand corner.
The result means Aberdeen's first victory over United since January 1998,
ending a run of 7 "New Firm" derbies without a win.
Teams:
Aberdeen: Leighton, Perry, Whyte, Jess, Dow, Bernard, Anderson, Guntveit (Belabed 70), McAllister, Stavrum (Rutkiewicz 90), Zerouali (Winters 83).
Subs Not Used: Esson, McGuire.
Booked: Perry, Belabed.
Goals: Zerouali 45, Belabed 74, Stavrum 89 pen.
Dundee Utd: Combe, Worrell, De Vos, Pascual, Partridge, Jonsson (Skoldmark 61), Easton, Hannah, Davidson (McConalogue 78), Thompson, Ferraz.
Subs Not Used: Onstad, Malpas, Smith.
Booked: Ferraz, Partridge.
Goals: Hannah 26.
Att: 16,686
Ref: D McDonald (Scotland).
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