PUT away the cans and hold off on the sandcastles: the season isn’t over quite yet for Aberdeen.
Just when it seemed like the Dons had run their race for another campaign, a European place secured but little else to play for, this surprisingly thrilling, jab-a-minute win over Livingston gave Stephen Glass’ men an outside chance of catching Jack Ross’ Hibs in third place.
For much of the season, it hasn’t seemed likely, especially in those barren final days of Derek McInnes’ reign, but with an impressive resilience they saw off Livi to move within five points of the Hibees with just two games remaining.
If they are to pip Hibs to be best of the rest, it’ll be in no small part down to the timely return of Ryan Hedges and in his first game for three months the mercurial winger had the crucial say.
For Livi, the defeat did the same to their own season, closing their lead over sixth place St Johnstone to a single point, and ensuring David Martindale’s men can’t simply sleepwalk their way to a potential continental jaunt next year.
On a day where Martindale’s jeans - a sure sign of an end of season encounter - proved a red herring, the Lions were at it from the off, pulling at the Aberdeen threads and looking for gaps, which more often than not appeared when Jay Emmanuel-Thomas drifted inside to pick up the ball and Nicky Devlin galloped with cartoon-like quality beyond him.
Aberdeen’s left was being too easily exposed but it was down that side the Dons would soon find a foothold into the game, Lewis Ferguson drifting wide and dragging his teammates into the contest.
He forced Max Stryjek into two fine saves but it took until the second half for Aberdeen’s increasing oomph to finally produce a goal. With 50 minutes on the clock, Hendry’s reactions were too quick for anyone in yellow as he prodded the ball home after a fine stop from the Pole.
Here was an opportunity for the Dons to kick on but Livi were the ones to rue a string of missed chances. Even more so when Hedges came off the bench to make it two in the 75th minute after he was given the freedom of Lothian to pick out the bottom corner.
That should have been that for Aberdeen, only for it to be a nervy last ten minutes when JET volleyed home with aplomb. The Lions’ tails were up and they threw everything at Gary Woods' goal but the Dons held on to ensure the season stays alive for at least one more game.
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