Dundee United went third in William Hill’s Premiership Hill and exerted major pressure on Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin with a 2-0 victory against donations to Tannadice.
The goals on each side of the half-time of Ivan Dolcek and Bert Esselink left Aberdeen rooted at the bottom of the tableless table in five games.
Thelin had demanded that his team better interpret the fundamental principles of football after the first defeat of the Saturday Sports Cup by Motherwell, but they were finally defeated by two aerial bullets and could have conceded more as United was moving over Hibernian in the table.
Stuart Armstrong struck the visit mark and Jesper Karlsson forced two stops, but there was no sustained threat from Thelin when they suffered a sixth defeat in nine games this season.
Aberdeen has now won only five of their last 32 championship games and Thelin may well be short of credit with the donation board of directors after the triumph of the club Scottish Cup in May. United Fans certainly thought it when they were chanting “dismissed in the morning”.
Fans of Aberdeen filled the “delivery” end to Tannadice and gave their team a major support for the first half while clinging to brief signs of resurgence in the second period.
But some fans have evacuated their anger after the break and the board of directors of Aberdeen will probably head in crisis talks before Saturday’s trip to Motherwell.
Thelin made three changes in the midfield with Captain Graeme Shinnie among those who fell on the bench, but United started on the front foot and Will Ferry was close to converting the balloon of Zac Sapsford on the face of the goal.
Karlsson sent a free header and forced a backup, but most of the first half’s pressure was at the other end. Dimitar Mitov has saved the deviated effort of Sapsford and Esselink spread in a corner.
Mitov saved only one from a dolcek after Sapsford brilliantly made his strike partner on the break, although the Australian received a yellow and penalized card for a fault on Sivert Nilsen after referee Steven McLean delayed his decision.
The opener arrived in the 45th minute while Dolcek pulled his fifth goal from the Première season in the lower corner from 18 meters after a head fell on his way.
Nicolas Milanovic largely curled up while Bedeen was trying to fight in the second half, but they were two down in five minutes when the unmarked Esselink returned to his home six meters after Vicko Sevelj had turned in a corner.
The game threatened to move away more from the scope of Aberdeen. Mitov has talked about Dolcek, Krisztian Keresztes fired in the side net from 20 meters, several blocks prevented United from hitting the target in a sustained pressure and sevelj shooting period just in the long term.
There were signs of a rally while Armstrong hit the crossbar at 25 meters and Yevhenii Kucherenko denied Karlsson with his feet of the rebound.
But Aberdeen could not seriously threaten to break their Duck from Prime Minister and Thelin and his players got up and questioned the scene of a half -empty stand displaying their anger after the final whistle.
What’s going on in the first Scottish?
