Kilmarnock beat Aberdeen for first time in almost six years

Posted Sunday, September 02, 2018 by PA

Eamonn Brophy’s fabulous free-kick and a stunning solo goal from Greg Stewart gave Kilmarnock victory over 10-man Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

The Dons suffered a blow in just the fifth minute when Michael Devlin was dismissed for a foul on Brophy.

Brophy broke the deadlock shortly before the break and Stewart struck in the 69th minute, as the visitors earned their first win over Aberdeen since December 2012.

The away side handed a debut to former Don player Stewart, who has moved to Rugby Park on loan from Birmingham.

Another recent loan signing, Aaron Tshibola, also started for Killie, while Brophy was promoted to the starting line-up after being named a substitute in the 1-0 loss to Hearts last time out.

Max Lowe, who moved to Aberdeen on-loan from Derby, was handed his Dons debut. The full-back replaced Tommie Hoban, who suffered a shoulder injury in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Hibs and may require surgery.

Niall McGinn and Shay Logan came back into the side, as Dominic Ball and Frank Ross dropped to the bench. James Wilson missed out with a tight hamstring.

The game got off to a terrible start for Aberdeen as Devlin was punished for pulling back Brophy.

Although the foul was 25 yards from goal, there was no covering defender for the hosts and Devlin was shown a red card by referee Craig Thomson. From Chris Burke’s resultant free-kick, a header from Brophy was well saved by Dons keeper Joe Lewis.

The home team quickly made a tactical change as Ball replaced the unfortunate Stephen Gleeson. The lively Brophy then smashed a shot off a post from 25 yards out.

Midway through the first half Burke latched on to a pass from Tshibola and tried to round Lewis, only for the Dons keeper to get a hand to the ball.

In the 31st minute, Aberdeen called Killie goalie Jamie MacDonald into action as he acrobatically pushed away a free-kick from McGinn.

The visitors then broke the deadlock just before the break. Graeme Shinnie fouled Stewart 25 yards from goal and Brophy dispatched the free-kick low past Lewis.

Early in the second half Brophy saw another free-kick deflected over, while Aberdeen’s Stevie May dragged a shot wide from 10 yards out.

Killie doubled their advantage in the 69th minute as Stewart surged clear of two Dons defenders and deftly chipped the ball over Lewis.

Aberdeen never looked like mounting a comeback in the closing stages, as the visitors beat the Reds for the first time in 22 games.