Early Wilson goal earns Aberdeen hard-fought win

Posted Sunday, September 23, 2018 by PA

Summer signing James Wilson scored his first goal for Aberdeen as the Dons beat Motherwell 1-0 to record only their second league win of the campaign.

The on-loan Manchester United forward, on his first start for the club, netted the only goal of the game in the sixth minute as Derek McInnes’ men ended a three-match winless streak.

For Motherwell, the defeat was their fourth of the season and leaves them in the bottom three.

Wilson was one of four changes from the Dons side that drew with St Johnstone, and the 22-year-old showed his intent almost immediately as he gave Trevor Carson – recovered from the Uche Ikpeazu challenge that saw him substituted last week – an early touch with a header in the opening minute.

Wilson was back on the prowl soon after, and this time there was no denying him as he took a neat touch from Niall McGinn’s reverse pass before finishing sharply across Carson from eight yards to make it 1-0.

It was a welcome start for the hosts, but Carl McHugh came close to levelling when his curling 20-yard effort clipped the crossbar midway through the first half.

A minute later, Stephen Robinson’s men were claiming a penalty as Andrew Considine cleared from Elliott Frear, but it looked a clean tackle from the Aberdeen man.

It was the home side who looked more likely to add another goal, though. McGinn saw a free-kick fly wide of the far post, before Sam Cosgrove saw his header from a Graeme Shinnie cross also drift wide of the target.

Straight after the interval, Motherwell winger Frear tested Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis with a raking shot from distance which the former England squad man was more than equal to, but it remained the hosts who looked the more threatening.

McGinn sent an effort curling wide after cutting inside from the left flank just after the hour, and Motherwell keeper Carson was a relieved man just two minutes later as Gary Mackay-Steven’s mis-hit shot from the edge of the box trickled through his arms – and behind for a corner.

Wilson’s game had come to an end between those two chances, and it was his replacement – Bruce Anderson – who was next to threaten.

Shay Logan led a strong Dons counter after winning the ball in midfield, and he slipped a nice pass to the substitute who perhaps needed to show a little more composure, succeeding only in blasting over from 15 yards.

A single-goal lead is always nervy and when Gael Bigirimana won his side a corner in the final five minutes you could feel the tension around Pittodrie, heightened when Frear again went over in the area when the ball came in but referee Nick Walsh was well-placed and showed the yellow card for a dive.

Still the tension was there and in the final minute it took a fine left-handed save from Lewis to divert Chris Cadden’s low shot round the post to seal the points for McInnes’ side.