Aberdeen 4 - 2 Hamilton

Aberdeen won 4-2 this afternoon in a very entertaining cup tie at Pittodrie. Hamilton, who put out Motherwell in the last round, scored in the opening stages but Aberdeen equalised straight away through Cammy Smith and took the lead shortly after that when Scott Rumbsy strolled forward and hammered the ball low into the net. Smith got his second to make it 3-1 but with the Dons looking in control Hamilton then scored a fine second. Just before the break Craig Murray latched onto a through ball by Smith and finished well to give the young Dons some breathing space again at half time. In the second half Hamilton pushed hard to get back into the game. The Dons defended well though and Przemyslaw had some good saves. Aberdeen looked very dangerous on the break and Stephen O'Neill set up a number of chances but there were no more goals as Neil Cooper's side move safely into the next round.

Dons top scorer Declan McManus had a chance in the opening minutes. He cut in from the left but his shot from a tight angle was well held by Shaw in the Hamilton goal. Hamilton then also had an early chance when Rumsby slipped but the big defender did well to regroup and recover the situation when he blocked the resulting cross. Hamilton then took the lead on 7 minutes. The ball was played in from the left and Gary Fraser was unmarked to place the ball into the corner of net with a good finish. Aberdeen though went down the other end and equalised immediately. McManus set up Cammy Smith who finished well.

The game then settled down a bit after that and the Aberdeen players seemed to enjoying their surroundings and were knocking the ball about well, as they had done all season. Ryan Fraser was looking at his dangerous best and the winger put in a number of dangerous crosses.

The Dons then took the lead on 20 minutes. After a good move the ball was played inside to Scott Rumsby who had strolled forward and he hit a great shot low past Shaw. Then two minutes later the Dons were 3-1 up. Again the Dons attackers put pressure on the Hamilton rearguard. Cammy Smith tackled the last man and then had the composure to put the ball into the net. A final before the goal though Hamilton had actually missed a good chance after another good cross. Johnston's header went wide and that miss proved to be costly.

At that stage the Dons looked well in control. Their passing and movement was causing the Hamilton defence real trouble. McManus and Smith in particular were looking very lively. Conor Devaney, who has scored some excellent goals this season was looking for another when he a shot from distance but the ball went just over. He also had a free kick which was well claimed by the Hamilton keeper. Smith then could have had a hat-trick but he unselfishly tried to tee-up a team mate. McManus and Masson linked up down the right. Craig Murray made a forward run into the box. His crossed picked out Smith who could have shot but decided McManus was in a better position but he was tackled as he was just about to shoot.

Murray put in another good cross before Hamilton got themselves right back into the game. The very impressive James Martin went at the Aberdeen defence at pace. He took all the defenders out of position before passing the ball wide to the unmarked Lewis Milton who cracked the ball home from the corner of the box.

Crucially again though the Dons scored almost immediately. Smith played a clever ball in behind the Hamilton back four for Murray to run onto. The midfielder took a couple of touches before curling the ball into the bottom corner of the net. A really excellent finish. In the final minute of the first half Ryan Fraser ran in behind the defence and tried to chip the keeper which he very nearly did.

After the break Hamilton came out in determined mood. Andrew Ryan had a good opportunity but he put his header straight at Lukasik. Then after a good move Martin had a shot which went just wide and then Johnston forced a fine save from Lukasik. The Dons defence though got their act together after that and controlled the rest of the game.

The Dons looked very dangerous on the break with the pace of O'Neill, Fraser and McManus. They set up Smith in the box who picked out Devaney after a one two with the ref but his shot was charged down. Just after the hour mark Smith was very unlucky not to complete his hat-trick. After being set up again by O'Neill his shot was brilliantly tipped wide with his finger tips by Shaw.

Any Hamilton attacks at this stage were being snuffed out and Przemyslaw on a number of occasions did well to come off his line very quickly. Aberdeen probably should have done better on the break. Too often the final pass went astray. On one occasion McManus picked the ball up and beat his man. He ran into the box but decided to shoot instead of passing to an unmarked team mate.

Stephen O'Neill was seeing a lot of the ball down the right. On two occasions he did really well to get to the by-line and put in a good cross but on the first occasion the ball was missed read by everyone and on the second occasion Smith got a shot away but failed to get any power in it.

On 74 minutes Craig Storie replaced Conor Devaney and then on 81 minutes Smith was replaced by Dean Carse. It highlights the strength of the U19s squad at the moment when they have players of the quality of Storie and Carse on the bench. Not surprisingly Carse went close on a number of occasions in the final few minutes and Storie almost set up a chance when he headed the ball back across goal.

No more goals then in the second half but the Dons move safely into the next round of the cup. Hamilton are a very decent side a and would probably beat most of the teams in the Clydesdale Bank Youth League so this was a good win in the end for Neil Cooper's men.

Weather: Dry and Sunny