Dundee 0-2 Aberdeen: Dons close gap on Celtic

Aberdeen closed the gap on Celtic to four points at the top of the Scottish Premiership table after beating Dundee 2-0 at Dens Park.

Both goals arrived inside the opening 25 minutes when Niall McGinn fired home the opener before Adam Rooney added an easy second.

The visitors completely controlled a one-sided first 45 minutes, but Dundee held their own during a more competitive second period.

The result means Aberdeen remain unbeaten since their defeat to Celtic in October, while Dundee stay one point outside of the top six.

The Dons made a strong start when Kenny McLean's curling free-kick was tipped over the crossbar by Scott Bain, but the Dundee goalkeeper was unable to prevent Aberdeen from taking the lead in the 10th minute.

The lively McGinn ended a prolonged spell of heavy pressure by latching on to a loose ball in the penalty area and placing a shot into the bottom left-hand corner past Bain.

Aberdeen deservedly added a second on 25 when Jonny Hayes picked out an unmarked Rooney who prodded the ball home from close range.

Nicky Low had a rare effort for Dundee as the first half came to a close but failed to trouble on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward in the visiting goal.

The hosts performed better after the break and they finally carved an opportunity in the 51st minute when Greg Stewart held off a number of defenders only to fire his effort straight at Ward.

At the other end, McLean squandered a decent chance from inside the box for Aberdeen, before Dundee's Kane Hemmings fired wide from a testing angle.

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Peter Pawlett almost added a cracking third for the Dons on 65 minutes but was denied by the woodwork from 12 yards. The 24-year-old tried his luck again moments later when he broke into the box but could only watch his effort punched clear by Bain.

But as Dundee appeared to accept their fate, the visitors comfortably saw out the closing 15 minutes although Hemmings did test Ward in stoppage time.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes said: "Our start was vitally important, we really imposed ourselves, we were aggressive and played at a real tempo. They have good players and we did not allow them to settle and we earned our reward for that."

Dundee boss Paul Hartley said: "The first half performance was not acceptable, I felt Aberdeen were more dominant than us.

"I felt we played better in the second half, we created chances and worked their goalkeeper a bit more. But overall, it wasn't the best performance from us."