Aberdeen 1 - 0 Hearts

Were this a Hollywood movie of 40 years ago rather than a Scottish football match on a clear but cold Aberdeen afternoon, John Wayne would surely have had a starring role of the blood and guts variety.

You simply had to be tough to take part and big John, despite his effeminate walk, would have led the way as the captain of the team. The winning one, of course.

In short, this was no game for the faint-hearted, and Aberdeen took a small but significant step closer to Hearts in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League table with a well-earned victory, courtesy of a spectacular Lee Miller volley midway through the second half.
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However, the win was in danger of being overshadowed by far too many unsavoury moments with Iain Brines, the referee, reaching for his yellow card seven times. He ordered off Hearts' Marius Zaliukas 20 minutes from the end, booked Aberdeen's Chris Maguire and visiting full-back Robbie Neilson for a skirmish at the final whistle, then showed the latter's team-mate, Lee Wallace, red for a post-match misdemeanour in the area outside the dressing rooms.

That, and Zaliukas' booking in the first half as he tried to encourage Mr Brines to flash his yellow card for what he considered an over-zealous challenge by Darren Mackie, was met with diplomacy from Christophe Berra, the Tynecastle captain, who brushed aside the suggestion from Jimmy Calderwood, the Aberdeen manager, that such actions should not be part of Scottish football.

"That's come from their manager," Berra said, "and it is his view. The fact is that, after I got my yellow card, I was scared to make a challenge in case I was sent off. It maybe affected my game.

"There is so much I want to say, but I can't. I am not going to give you headlines. The majority of fair-minded fans in the stands could see what was happening, but that's football."

He added that he had not seen the incident which let to Zaliukas' red card, but added: "There was a lot of frustration and anger in the changing room afterwards and lots of people wanted to say things, but you have to keep these things to yourself and that's what I'm going to do."

He noted, however: "That's one defeat in 11 games, so any team with that run would be positive."

Berra, expected to be prominent in the January transfer dealings, admitted his desire to play at a bigger and better club, but Jeffrey de Visscher, until a few weeks ago a strong candidate for the Pittodrie departure lounge, may now rethink his desire to leave.

The Dutch midfielder, in sparkling form, has embraced his return to the starting line-up and tormented a troubled Hearts defence.

"It was a very important result for us," he said, "and everybody was up for it. I have played the last three games and I am happy. I now need to concentrate on keeping my place in the side and winning as many games as possible.

"I am not thinking about my contract at the moment and, while I had a wee talk with the manager Jimmy Calderwood, it was all about how he felt I was playing and why he had left me out of the team until recently.

"He told me if I was doing well I would be in the starting line-up and, if I wasn't, I would have to do better. That's a good story for me because, a few weeks ago, he overlooked me, despite me working hard. But he has now given me my chance and I am very happy with that.

"Still, we must improve because we need to keep moving up the league and we must learn to fight as hard as we did against Hearts when we face the lower teams."

Taken from the Herald