Aberdeen’s late late show pays off with three points at Livingston

A day of gambles paid a late dividend for Aberdeen as they snatched victory in a dramatic finale against Livingston.

Manager Stephen Glass must surely have been wondering whether the decision to shuffle the pack as much as he did would result in his side having to settle for one point before a late roll of the dice from full back Jack Mackenzie’s boot, and a horrible moment for Livingston goalkeeper Max Stryjek, combined to give the Dons victory.

Glass took a risk with his starting 11 for the trip to Livingston.

Lewis Ferguson and Funso Ojo, who were at Tony Macaroni Arena, missed out due to injuries while Ross McCrorie, Scott Brown, Christian Ramirez and Calvin Ramsay all dropped to the bench as Glass made six changes from the side which beat Breidablik 3-2 in Iceland in the Conference League.

The replacements were Declan Gallagher Jack Gurr and Teddy Jenks, who made their first starts, Niall McGinn, Ryan Hedges and Dylan McGeouch.

It was not so much the fact the Dons boss made half a dozen changes for this game but the fact five of those who came into the team were making their first competitive starts of the campaign.

It is easy to appear wise after the fact but with the benefit of hindsight it is easy to make the argument it may have been a contributory factor to what was a disjointed first half display from Aberdeen.

This was a meeting of two strikers facing their former clubs for the first time in Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, now in the red of Aberdeen, and Bruce Anderson, now leading the line for Livingston.

It was former Don Anderson who was first to threaten with a first-time strike from a James Penrice low ball into the box which flashed just wide of goal.

Emmanuel-Thomas’ first significant contribution was to find Hedges out wide after Jenks had done well to regain possession for the Dons on the halfway line and the Wales international cut inside form the wing before firing in an angled drive which went just wide.

It was a rare sight of goal for the visitors, however, in what was a low-key opening 20 minutes for Aberdeen. To be fair Livi did not offer much in the final third either.

The Dons were keen to switch play with long diagonal balls when the opportunity presented itself and one terrific pass from Andy Considine sent Gurr clear down the right but the right back’s pull back found no takers in a red shirt.

There were moments of slackness too, however, and one poor pass from McGinn to Hedges was intercepted and a quick ball forward ended with Jackson Longridge seeing his near post effort turned away by Joe Lewis.

Lewis was furious at the sloppy play and his mood would have darkened further from the resulting corner in the 34th minute as Livingston took the lead when a clearance was headed back into the box by Penrice and Anderson’s header looped over Lewis and into the net.

Anderson, who had been barracked by cries of reject from the Dons fans, clearly enjoyed his opportunity to silence his critics.

What was clear though was that it was a poor goal to lose from the Dons and they nearly found themselves 2-0 down when Anderson found Scott Pittman in space in the box but the midfielder shot tamely at Lewis.

Hayes was forced off a minute before the break with an injury with Scott Brown taking his place.

Whether it was the arrival of the team captain or whatever was said during the interval but the difference in the Aberdeen team which emerged for the second half was evident as the Dons drew level within two minutes of the restart.

Neat play down the left between Hedges and McGinn eventually ended with the ball being played centrally to Jenks and the midfielder fired home a brilliant 20 yard low strike for his first goal for the club.

The equaliser injected a real sense of tempo into proceedings and Declan Gallagher saw a header cleared off the line for Aberdeen before Hedges headed an Ayo Obileye header of the line to deny the Livi defender as chances flowed at both ends of the field.

It looked as if a point would be Aberdeen’s best return but in the third minute of stoppage time full back Mackenzie drifted in from the left wing before firing in a speculative shot from the edge of the box.

Stryjek looked to have it covered but he somehow spilled the shot over the line to spark wild scenes as Mackenzie, who could scarcely believe his luck, celebrated his first goal for the club with his team-mates and, by the look of it, around half of the 900 Dons fans who spilled onto the pitch.