Aberdeen 3-0 Livingston
Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Saturday 20th April 2002

Team: Broto, Brinquin, Santini, Rubio, Andrews, Makel, Quino, Lovell (Jokovic77), Tosh (Bingham 46), Fernandez, Wilson (Hart 77)
Subs: McEwan, Hart, Bingham, Jokovic, Caputo

A direct turnaround from our last league encounter with the Dons at Pittodrie with the 3-0 score line going against us this time. Bad day at the office, strange decisions by officials and the ball not bouncing for us are all valid for this game - but not the only reason we lost. In truth Aberdeen deserved this win with their commitment, stout defending and effective breakaways. Rarely have I seen so many defensive errors from Marv, Rubio and even Broto in the one game. But credit to the Dons for taking the chances when they were presented.

The atmosphere around the ground before kick off was excellent with the fans from both sides full of expectation for clinching the Uefa cup spot which was up for grabs. Much to the amusement of the Livi fans, the Dons mascot Angus the bull took a tumble as he tripped running out before the game. This omen was to reverse back on us though as it was Livi who ended up with the biggest fall. This was not a game for the feint hearted Livi fan - it just went from bad to worse. A lively start with noisy fans from both sides was only spoilt by misplaced passes from both sides. When it did settle down a bit the combination of Lovell and Makel looked good together and could have been the key to a Livi win. Sadly though an early cross from the right saw Broto and Marv combine to make a complete hash of clearing the danger and see the ball fall at Mikes feet for an easy tap in. 1-0 after only 7 minutes. The second was an well earned goal however when Mackies header was brilliantly scooped out of the far corner by Broto. Sadly for Livi it fell to the feet of McGuire who made no mistake in burying the goal 2-0 after 10 minutes.

Now one of the many strange decisions by the officials. Fernandez and McGuire had a minor collision whilst going for the ball in the centre circle - no real damage done. The ref steamed in as if war was about to break out and booked Fernandez while the rest of the players looked on wondering what all the fuss was about. As the game wore on you could see the score line had lifted the Dons and made Livi's game incredibly shaky. A complete contrast to last weeks performance against Rangers. Another officials screw up came when Fernandez was clearly on side but play was stopped and the free kick awarded to the Dons.

Next up was a return to what was by now our error strewn play which saw Broto completely miss the ball from a cross but we were fortunate it came to nothing.

We did produce the occasional piece of good play and Fernandez once again was in the clear and indeed put the ball in the back of the net but it was disallowed. Another horrendous decision from the officials. This could have been a turning point for Livi to get back into things at 2-1, but it was not to be. The rest of the half played out with Aberdeen taking the best of the play ably assisted by Livi's bad form in defence. This led to the Dons third goal when on off form Rubio failed to break down Mackies run on the right which allowed him to cut into the box and score with a great shot. Half time 3-0

The second half kicked off with Bingham on as a replacement for Tosh. Bingham made an immediate impact when he left Kjaer standing on his line with a free kick that hit the post. The pattern for this game was well and truly setting in. Broto gave us another heart attack after 50 minutes when he missed controlling the ball and hastily had to punt it into touch when he was pressurised by the advancing Dons. Back up the other end and Bingham was clear through only to have it cleared off his toe at the last second.

Rubio picked up his customary yellow card after 60 minutes. By now Aberdeen had this game well under control - solid defending and quick breaks out ensured that Livi never really troubled Kjaer. The Livi band, by now resigned to our fate, gave us something to smile about by playing 'Always look on the bright side of life' and 'Baa Baa black sheep'. The frustration must have been getting through to big Leish as well when the fourth official called the ref over to have a word with the big man.

With 15 minutes left Lovell and Wilson were replaced by Jokovic and Hart but it was too little to late to make any difference to the result of this match. As I said - a deserved win for the Dons due to their hard work and will to win. As you can imagine its difficult for me to pick a MOM from this game for Livi. I will give a mention though for Makel who rarely put a foot wrong and worked extremely hard. Not something I can easily say about many of ours today. If Bingham had played the whole game as he did in the second half, MOM would probably have gone to him.

No guaranteed Uefa yet but I do feel we will clinch it next week at home against Dunfermline. We have not come this far without getting the results to keep us going. Today was a poor performance against an Aberdeen team who were really up for it. We know what the team is capable of and they will be breaking Jambos hearts next week.