Weather gets better of Dons and Hearts

Published on Thursday 29 December 2011 02:14

There were no goals and little feeling left in the limbs of most who attended Pittodrie last night for a game of football ruined by the conditions.

Both managers had to make allowances for the dreadful weather and neither Craig Brown or Paulo Sergio could be too dissatisfied with the point gained, although Aberdeen had a glorious chance to seal victory in the 90th minute.

Rob Milsom held his head in his hands after first using it to nod Ryan Jack's cross down into the ground when unmarked at the back post. The ball then bounced up and cleared Marian Kello's bar. It was a long time to wait for the game's one true scoring opportunity and Milsom's pained reaction reflected that fact.

However, anything collected on a night such as this was a bonus. No save of any consequence was required to be made by either Jason Brown or Kello. Apart from Milsom's effort at the end, a Jack shot in the first half was as good as it had got for the hosts, while Hearts were forced to feed off even more meagre scraps on a difficult night for footballers and an uncomfortable one for supporters.

The problems associated with the high wind speed were plain to see, particularly when Rudi Skacel's cross from the right was swept ever higher into the air and eventually landed out of play on the other side of the pitch, having bounced only once. Then there was the added complication of empty plastic bags blowing across the pitch. One black bin liner proved as tricky to catch as Peter Weir in his pomp.

Sergio made the most of the chance to make changes while he still has the opportunity to do so. With what amounts to a fire sale anticipated at Tynecastle next month, the manager might find his choices limited when it comes to contemplating his team selections. Last night, however, he made five alterations to the team which defeated Motherwell so impressively at the weekend. It was clear he had Monday's derby clash with Hibernian very much in mind.

Included among the changes was Darren Barr, who started his first game of the season. Andrew Driver and John Sutton have not been quite so obviously shunted out in the cold, but both were also brought into the starting XI after long periods of exclusion.

It wasn't a game they might have picked in their bid to impress the manager, or watching suitors. This wasn't a night for showing anyone what you could do. Rather, it was an evening when the easy ball had to be played along the ground, preferably to a team-mate about six inches away. Stevie Campbell, a coach at Dundee United, sat shivering in the main stand. His side play Aberdeen next week, but there wasn't much anyone could learn here.

Hearts appeared to cope better in the opening stages, although clear-cut chances were at a understandably premium. Skacel saw a free-kick charged down after Marius Zaliukas had been felled following a long run out of defence. Sutton, who battled away gamely on his own up front, hadn't started a match since the start of the month. This wasn't a game in which to hope to find your touch again.

Richard Foster, the Aberdeen left-back and skipper, made several incisive runs down the left flank. From one of these Aberdeen crafted possibly their best chance of the half. Foster's cut-back found Ryan Jack, whose shot was too straight to trouble Kello. The hosts finished the opening half on top, but, in truth, it was not difficult to pin-point the dominant force – and it was neither of the contesting teams.

Sergio made a change at the start of the second half, but such was the elemental fury of the skies such tinkering seemed futile. This clash was destined to end in stalemate since it seemed impossible for either side to rise above the poor weather.

Skacel was allowed to remain in the changing room and have a hot shower. Ian Black, meanwhile, was instructed to peel off multiple layers of clothing and was sent out in the wild and wintry night. He kept his gloves on, however.

Aberdeen built on what had been their improving performance in the opening half and sought to take the game the game to Hearts when the team re-emerged after half-time. Kari Arnason's effort from a free-kick made Kello's side net billow and had many Aberdeen fans out of their seats.

They had barely sat down again before Driver had given then a fright after breaking free of the Aberdeen backline. However, the winger's touch betrayed his lack of playing time of late and Brown gathered the ball. It was a rare sight of goal for Hearts and a precious chance to pass up.

Both teams aimed to shake things up as the midway point of the second-half was reached. Craig Brown, the Aberdeen manager, brought on Chris Clark for the ineffectual Darren Mackie. Sergio replaced David Obua with Mehdi Taouil. But the match got scrappier if anything as the conditions appeared to worsen.

Hearts have scored the fewest number of away goals of any team in Scotland and this was not an evening when they were likely to be given the opportunity to begin improving on this bleak statistic.

Play became confined to the midfield area and as well as admiring the endeavour of the player, it is also important to applaud the fans in a decent crowd of 9,210. A sizeable number had travelled up from Edinburgh. It was a long way to come for a game which was given little chance to catch fire.

Taken from the Scotsman