Hamilton 1-0 Aberdeen: Dons miss chance to close on Celtic

Aberdeen missed the chance to close the gap on Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic after they lost 1-0 away to Hamilton on Tuesday night.

The Dons would have moved to within one point of Brendan Rodgers' side with a win at the SuperSeal Stadium but Accies striker Alex D'Acol scored the winner from the penalty spot after just six minutes.

Hamilton moves up to sixth in the table with their first league win in six matches, while Aberdeen remain second as their winning run in all competitions was halted at six games.

The game hinged on a crucial penalty decision from referee Willie Collum, who adjudged Anthony O'Connor's challenge on D'Acol to be a foul.

D'Acol picked himself up to slam the spot-kick past goalkeeper Joe Lewis for his fourth goal of the season.

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Aberdeen struggled to recover their composure and D'Acol hit the side-netting with a powerful drive from 25 yards before attacker Eamonn Brophy nipped in ahead of O'Connor to toe poke the ball just wide of the upright.

The Dons gradually began to work their way back into the contest, and in the 27th minute, Accies 'keeper Gary Woods had to make a good close-range save from Jonny Hayes after the winger had linked well with James Maddison.

With five minutes remaining of the first half, Maddison's free-kick from wide on the right reached the back post but defender Mark Reynolds' weak header was saved by Woods on the line.

Aberdeen had a penalty appeal turned down early in the second half when midfielder Darian MacKinnon tangled with Kenny McLean in the box, but referee Collum stood firm.

Striker Adam Rooney headed a Hayes cross straight into the arms of Woods before Hayes fired over on the angle as the Dons fans in the crowd of 2,315 vented their frustration on Collum.

Away manager Derek McInnes opted to make a triple substitution in the 64th minute with Miles Storey, Niall McGinn and Peter Pawlett coming on to replace Reynolds, Wes Burns and Maddison.

However, the Lanarkshire outfit remained resolute and pushed for a second goal in the closing stages.

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Lewis saved from Greg Docherty and Grant Gillespie following Accies breaks and despite a late flurry, Aberdeen could not find the breakthrough.

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