Aberdeen 0 Hearts 0

Dec 29 2011 By Ian Orr

CRAIG BROWN saw his Aberdeen side continue their festive revival with a well-earned point – then insisted even Barcelona would have struggled to compete in the farcical conditions.

The Dons created the best chances in an clash played out in gale-force winds, driving rain and a chill that left Pittodrie almost inhabitable.

Rory Fallon could, and should, have headed Aberdeen in front early on but blew his chance from close range in the game's best chance before Rob Milsom failed make his mark at the death.

But Brown refused to be critical of his men, claiming the miserable weather had a big impact on proceedings.

He said: "Barcelona would have had difficulty playing in those conditions!

"If you are looking for a football spectacle, there was no chance of getting one. However, we did get endeavour and commitment from the two teams and a definite attempt to play football.

"We have a goalkeeper who has not had a save to make in the entire match and was not threatened in any way.

"We had one or two good chances, particularly at the end with the header, but we missed them. That has been the story of our season.

"I'm proud of the players' efforts but the quality required when it came to finishing was not there."

If justice had been done the Dons would have taken all three points against a Tynecastle side set out to gain a draw in atrocious conditions at Pittodrie.

Hearts gaffer Paolo Sergio's ultra-cautious team selection made it plain his priority was to succeed in Monday's Edinburgh derby.

But his strategy almost back-fired because Aberdeen showed the qualities needed to escape the relegation mire with a confident, battling display.

Craig Brown, who saw the Dons slump to a 5-0 defeat in his first match in charge at Tynecastle, had insisted his players repay their Red Army with a victory after their loss to Inverness.

But the stats showed how difficult it would be for the home side to secure a much-needed win and take a step nearer safety, with the Jambos losing just once in their last eight visits to Pittodrie.

But the Tynecastle outfit's record on the road hardly encouraged optimism among their hardy band of fans who had made the long trip to the Granite City.

Their miserly haul of just four away goals this season is the worst of any club in Britain and had won just once on their SPL travels since beating Hamilton last February – and that was against rock-bottom Dunfermline.

Sergio was true to his promise and rotated his squad to rest five players ahead of the clash against Hibs.

But he was forced to bring Darren Barr in for a rare start because of the ankle injury sustained by Jamie Hamill on Saturday.

And there was a surprise return for winger Andy Driver despite uncertainty over his future at Tynecastle.

Brown, who has still to decide on his strongest line-up after posting just five wins this campaign, made two changes with Kiwi Rory Fallon in to lend height to attack and Darren Mackie on the right flank to exploit rookie Ryan McGowan.

The Dons should have been ahead by the break after gaining most of the possession and they looked dangerous.

Their best chance came in 15 minutes when Scott Vernon whipped in from the left and it seemed a formality for strike partner Fallon to turn home but he took his eye off the ball and completely missed a glaring chance.

It was difficult to find fault in such farcical conditions and the SFA must carry the blame for allowing the match to go ahead.

The referee isn't allowed to call off a game because of the wind but what was to stop the powers that be sending an official north to use commonsense and wait for a better day?

Skipper Richard Foster did his utmost to inspire his side, driving up the left flank and delivering crosses to keep their rivals' rearguard under pressure.

Hearts' solitary scoring attempt came from a mistake by keeper Jason Brown whose lofted clearance was blown back into the penalty box. Striker John Sutton connected but Brown did well to save.

Aberdeen gained in authority on the re-start and their rivals were stretched to hold them out. It was no surprise their boss made two quick changes.

Ian Black and Mehdi Taouil replaced the anonymous Rudi Skacel and David Obua but before that the Dons came so close to seizing the lead.

Foster, the most influential performer on the field, turned a free-kick into Kari Arnason's tracks in 53 minutes and the Icelandic international had Kello beaten with a clipped 25-yard drive but the ball flew just wide of the near upright.

It took another mistake from Dons to hand Hearts their best chance of an increasingly one-sided contest. This time it was former Fulham starlet Milsom who was woefully short with a backpass intended for his keeper.

Driver swooped on the blunder but was too slow to pull the trigger and Brown dived bravely at the winger's feet to maintain the stalemate.

With their rivals pressed deep into their own half, rising star Ryan Jack powered a drive in from 25 yards only to see it deflect off team-mate Vernon and spin wide of the far post.

Then in the closing seconds, Foster found Milsom with a cross to the back post but the midfielder headed down and the ball went up and over the bar.

Taken from the Daily Record