Aberdeen claimed their second league win of the season with victory over Dundee at Dens Park. Dundee led after Kevin Holt found the far corner, but James Maddison levelled with a neat turn and shot. Graeme Shinnie hit the bar, but Jayden Stockley put the Dons ahead with a close-range header. Kenny McLean added a late penalty after Julen Etxabeguren was adjudged to have fouled Wes Burns, before Mark O'Hara received a late red card.
Maddison a class act
Dundee, with Faissal El Bakhtaoui isolated as a loan striker, conceded huge swathes of possession to Aberdeen, whose new signing Maddison is clearly a class act. Dundee's hit-them-on-the-break plan looked for a long time that it might work a treat. With hardly an attack to the hosts' name, wing back Holt scored a clever, well-worked goal. Aberdeen looked like the victims of a mugging. The home section, in a crowd of 6,321, cared not a jot and sat in for an afternoon of bombardment. The Dons would not let them down.
Haunted by draws
They took just seven minutes to launch the recovery and the aforementioned Maddison created a goal with a wonderful turn to created the space for a shot. It was struck well enough but Scott Bain in the Dundee goal made a real hash of it. Despite conceding around 70% of the possession, the home team survived on level terms until the break. And their luck threatened to prevail in the second half. Shinnie launched a spectacular 20-yarder that rattled the crossbar, although Bain's reaction suggested he got a fingertip to it.
Kevin Holt gave Dundee an early lead. And the Dundee goalkeeper continued to compensate for his earlier mistake, emerging 16 yards from his goal to deny Maddison with a block. The prize, for the winners of this fixture, was elevation to fourth place in the table with both teams haunted by too many draws. And the deadlock continued as Referee Steven McLean turned down two penalty claim for fouls on El Bakhtoui, the second looking the stronger case.
Substitutions make the difference
Aberdeen snatched the win courtesy of a substitute Stockley, but Hayes was the architect with a run to the line and a great cross. It was a classic of wing play and an old-fashioned headed finish. Derek McInnes' side deserved the points. A late penalty from Kenny McLean - which hit the bar twice on its way in - secured the victory. It was given for an Etxabeguren tackle on Burns in which he actually took the ball. There was still time for more misery for Dundee. O'Hara became the second of their players in two weeks to be red-carded after a second yellow for a challenge on Shinnie.
Managers' reaction
Dundee's Paul Hartley: "I thought we were good today. I don't think the scoreline was a reflection of how we played. "I felt we were excellent, especially second half. Hopefully this performance will get us going, "It wasn't a penalty, because he wins the ball. "Mark [O'Hara] maybe shouldn't make the challenge for the red card, but we seem to be getting yellow and red cards these days for nothing.
"Two challenges, but not two nasty challenges. So, can we see a bit of common sense sometimes? Obviously not." Aberdeen's Derek McInnes: "I said before the game we were looking for that killer instinct. Thankfully we found it. "We were dominating, we were hit with a sucker punch, and it makes it more satisfying coming back. "Obviously the changes have instantly helped us and that's the beauty of having good options from the bench to go and change the game."
