Aberdeen dump sorry ’Well

Dec 3 2008 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

MOTHERWELL’S wretched form continued at the weekend when they were beaten by Aberdeen in a disappointing game in the North East.

The result leaves the Fir Parkers just five points above the drop zone and in real danger of being dragged into a relegation dogfight if they don’t start to pick up points quickly.

Already Motherwell’s match with local rivals Hamilton on December 20 looks like being a crucial six-pointer for all the wrong reasons.

Goals from Gary McDonald and Lee Miller ensured Aberdeen earned their third consecutive home win on Saturday, while Paul Quinn was shown a red card for Motherwell after fouling Darren Mackie when the striker was through on goal in the second half.

Motherwell are now without a win in five SPL outings with their last success coming against Hamilton at the beginning of November.

Both sides made nervous starts and this continued throughout what can only be described as a dire first half.

Both sides had lots of possession but creativity was lacking and neither side looked like scoring.

Midfielder Keith Lasley found himself in space for Motherwell and fired in a half-chance in eight minutes but Langfield saved comfortably.

Darren Mackie infuriated the home fans as he found himself offside more often than not.

The striker appeared to lack confidence and this was evident as Aberdeen created their first decent opportunity of the match.

On the half-hour mark, Lee Miller's flick put Mackie through on goal.

However, the Dons striker elected not to shoot and his attempted pass to teammate Sone Aluko was dealt with by the Well defence.

Motherwell should have taken the lead on the stroke of half-time.

A leaping Chris Porter diverted a long, hopeful ball upfield into the path of team-mate Jamie Murphy.

The ’Well youngster found himself free in the box but smacked his shot over the bar from 16 yards.

Aberdeen’s Gary McDonald replaced the injured Andrew Considine on the hour-mark and scored with just his second touch a minute later.

England under-19 international Sono Aluko skipped past his marker and planted a cross onto the head of McDonald, who powered the ball into the top corner of the Motherwell net.

Darren Mackie made up for his lethargic first-half performance by winning Aberdeen a penalty six minutes later that effectively ended the match as a contest. Paul Quinn was then shown his second red card of the season. Mackie was about to pull the trigger inside the Motherwell penalty area, when Quinn denied him a clear goal scoring opportunity.

This resulted in the former Motherwell skipper being dismissed.

A petulant Graeme Smith was then booked for throwing some water at Lee Miller but the Dons striker coolly stepped up to drive the penalty in the top corner of the goal.

Aberdeen used the extra man to their advantage as they controlled the game and bombarded the Motherwell back line and could have scored more.

Smith pulled of a top-class save from a deflected Scott Severin effort and Lee Mair and Chris Maguire both had chances to extend the lead but the score line remained unchanged.

Aberdeen: Langfield, Considine (McDonald 60), Mulgrew, Diamond, Mair, Severin, Kerr, Young (De Visscher 63), Aluko (Maguire 67), Miller, Mackie.

Booked: Miller, Maguire.

Goals: McDonald 61, Miller 67 pen.

Motherwell: Graeme Smith, Quinn, Hammell, Reynolds, Malcolm, Klimpl, Lasley, Fitzpatrick, Hughes, Murphy (Saunders 67), Porter.

Booked: Graeme Smith, Malcolm, Reynolds. Sent off: Quinn.

Attendance: 10,302

Referee: C. Boyle