Aberdeen 2 Hibs 0

It was a frustrating afternoon at Pittodrie as the Hibees fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Aberdeen.

The Hibees played the majority of the match with 10 men as Grant Hanley was sent off after colliding with Toyosi Olusanya inside the first 15 minutes. The decision resulted in a penalty kick for the hosts, which was converted by Kevin Nisbet – and from there it was always an uphill task.

There was even further frustration after the VAR instructed the referee over to the monitor for a potential red card when Emmanuel Gyamfi made clear contact with Owen Elding off the ball – but David Dickinson brandished a yellow instead. Nisbet added a second in the second half with Aberdeen seeing the game out to claim all three points.

David Gray named an unchanged side to the team that swept aside Kilmarnock at Easter Road last time out, with the only alterations on the bench as Nicky Cadden and Rocky Bushiri returned to the matchday squad.

It was the visitors who had the first sighting at goal, with Hanley sticking out an important leg to block from former Scotland international Stuart Armstrong.

Chances were few and far between in the opening quarter of an hour, with both teams sounding each other out and possession regularly switching sides. The first major incident came after 12 minutes when play was halted after Hanley collided with Olusanya in the Hibs penalty area.

Initially, nothing was given, but the VAR intervened and - after a lengthy check - it showed an unfortunate tangle of legs and Hanley was shown a straight red card with Aberdeen awarded a penalty. Nisbet stepped up and sent Sallinger the wrong way to give the hosts an early lead.

With the numerical disadvantage, Gray immediately switched things up, with Jack Iredale replaced by Bushiri and the Hibees moving to a back-four of Passlack, O’Hora, Rocky and Obita.

Midway through the second half Barlaser had a shot blocked from the edge of the area as the Hibees looked for a way back into the game. That sparked David Gray’s side back into life as we began to get our foot on the ball a bit more and pass through the lines. The hosts looked up for the challenge though, and were making the extra man count, pressing Hibs high up the pitch and not giving us much space to work with.

Aberdeen thought they had a second after Olusanya flicked in Lyall Cameron’s low-drive, but the Dons attacker was clearly in an offside position and the flag was raised.

Minutes after, Jordan Obita fired in a dangerous delivery which was headed behind for a Hibs corner. From the resulting set-piece Hibs mustered up a shooting opportunity, but again, Obita’s long range effort was blocked.

Just before the break, Aberdeen had a flurry of chances. First, Sallinger was forced into a routine save from Nisbet’s glancing header before Felix Passlack made a crucial block inside his own six-yard box to prevent a second. Alexander Jensen then fired over the bar from close-range on the half-volley – a real let-off for the Hibees.

The first 45 concluded with another VAR check – this time play was stopped after Gyamfi made contact with the back of Elding’s head in what was an off-the-ball incident. The VAR instructed referee, David Dickinson, over to the monitor but he only deemed the incident worthy of a yellow card.

Gray made one change at the break, introducing Ante Suto into the action, with Dane Scarlett making way. Olusanya continued to cause Hibs problems early in the second period – finding pockets of space and working a shooting opportunity twice in quick succession.

The game certainly opened up in the second period with Gyamfi next to try his luck, curling an effort just wide of Sallinger’s left-hand post. Owen Elding became the third Hibs player to go into the book after he was shown a yellow card for a foul on Gavin Molloy on the half-way line.

The hosts were looking to kill the game with a second goal - with Nisbet and Aremu both having good chances midway through the second period.

Owen Elding looked dangerous for the Hibees and caused Aberdeen problems with his direct running, but that final action was lacking and it proved difficult to break down the hosts with their numerical advantage.

Dan Barlaser was then booked for dissent on 52 minutes, after a disagreement with David Dickinson. Both sides appeared frustrated with the referee as the game became very stop-start with a lot of soft fouls in the middle of the pitch.

Jamie McGrath was getting on the ball and looked dangerous in the middle of the pitch and managed to carve open our best chance of the first hour. He picked out Owen Elding with a defence-splitting pass. The striker got the ball out of his feet, but Dimitar Mitov closed down the angle and made an important save with his body.

With 15 minutes to go, Nisbet added a second for the hosts. The Dons striker found half a yard in the penalty area and his powerful shot bounced back off the crossbar - with replays showing it crossed the line.

Aremu was then shown a yellow card for wiping out Miguel Chaiwa on the halfway line.

Gray made a triple change in the final 10 minutes of the game, introducing Joe Newell, Martin Boyle and Kai Andrews to proceedings. Boyle forced Mitov into a save within seconds of entering the pitch. The Australian international cut inside and tried to catch the Aberdeen keeper out at his near post, but he was equal to it.

The Hibees huffed and puffed in the closing stages, but it wasn’t to be and Aberdeen saw the game out to claim all three points.