Ten man Hibs lost to Aberdeen at a wind swept Pittodrie this afternoon after taking a half-time lead.
Head Coach Jack Ross made two changes to the starting XI that lost the Edinburgh derby on Tuesday with Steven Whittaker replacing Stephane Omeonga and Jamie Gullan taking over from the suspended Marc McNulty.
Former Hibs Scottish Cup winning midfielder Dylan McGeouch started for Aberdeen.
McGeouch quickly demonstrated the skill that made him such a favourite at Easter Road by creating an early chance then Gullan had a decent effort from 20-yards which Lewis saved.
Hibs thought they had taken the lead in the 9th minute when Christian Doidge’s header from Paul McGinn’s cross was saved by Lewis although the Welshman and the travelling supporters were convinced that the ball had crossed the line.
Hibs then had a penalty claim turned down by referee John Beaton after Martin Boyle was bundled over by Matty Kennedy inside the area.
In the 19th minute, Gullan took possession of the ball on the half-way line and outpaced the Dons’ defenders but his shot was well saved by Lewis.
Aberdeen then started to dominate possession with McGeouch in particular in fine form.
Niall McGinn almost scored direct from a corner but Ofir Marciano did well to tip the ball over the bar. Curtis Main then tested Marciano from close-range but the keeper produced a superb save.
Hibs opened the scoring in the 38th minute when Lewis Stevenson won possession and found Scott Allan in midfield. Allan ran forward before sending a trademark inch-perfect through ball to Doidge who beat the offside trap and rounded Lewis before scoring from an acute angle.
Whittaker was booked for a barge on Lewis Ferguson then just before the break Greg Docherty and Ferguson tangled in the box and the home fans screamed for a penalty but the referee had clearly seen that the Aberdeen man had a hold of Docherty’s jersey.
Hibs were reduced to 10-men in the 54th minute after Whittaker was sent off for a late challenge on Ferguson and from then it was one-way traffic.
Melker Hallberg replaced Gullan as Hibs chose to go with one up front but moments later the Dons equalised when McGinn’s cross from the left was defected into his own net by Adam Jackson.
The hosts took the lead in controversial circumstances when Aberdeen were awarded a corner kick when it appeared that it was one of their players who had the final touch. Paul Hanlon protested but the decision stood. McGinn sent a cross into the danger area and after a stramash Andy Considine tapped the ball into the net from close range.
Jack Ross’s assistant John Potter was shown a yellow card for his protests.
Allan was replaced by Omeonga as Hibs tried desperately fought to get back into the game.
Boyle had a strike blocked then Jackson produced a great last ditch tackle to deny substitute Bruce Anderson.
Lewis Stevenson was replaced by Daryl Horgan but Aberdeen wrapped things up with eight minutes remaining. Ferguson produced a superb piece of skill on the right with a back heel which set up McGinn. He found Anderson whose shot was blocked but the ball fell to Curtis Main who fired the ball into the net from eight yards.
McGinn was booked for a late challenge on Kennedy but Beaton incurred the wrath of the 1000 travelling fans by ignoring a blatant pull back by Ferguson on Horgan.
Aberdeen: Lewis, Logan, Taylor, Considine, Ojo, McGeouch, Ferguson, McLennan, Kennedy, McGinn, Main. Subs: Cerney, Hernandez, Devlin, Campbell, Bryson, Hedges, Anderson
Hibs: Marciano, McGinn, Jackson, Hanlon, Boyle, Whittaker, Docherty, Stevenson, Allan Gullan, Doidge. Subs: Bogdan, Gray, McGregor, Hallberg, Omeonga, Horgan, Murray.
Referee John Beaton
Attendance 14,388
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
