ABERDEEN VS DUNDEE MATCH REPORT, PITTODRIE, 21 FEBRUARY 2026
Dundee beat Aberdeen 3-2 in a thriller to record their first win at Pittodrie in 22 years, as a screamer from Ethan Hamilton put the game to bed.
With Dundee ninth and Aberdeen eighth in the table with a game in hand, both teams knew the game was a must win in escaping the relegation sides and gaining on seventh placed Dundee United.
Steven Pressley made only one change to his starting eleven as Imari Samuels replaced the injured Brad Halliday at left-back, while Aberdeen made three changes from their 2-0 cup victory against Motherwell.
The Dark Blues started the game poorly, with Aberdeen having several chances to take the lead early on. Topi Keskinen drilled a low cross from the left-hand side, and Toyosi Olusanya missed a golden opportunity to put the Dons ahead after mistiming his run.
Dundee’s poor form in the opening quarter did not go unpunished. Link up between Mitchel Frame and Keskinen on the left side led to the Fin finding Kevin Nisbet, whose shot slipped through the gloves of Jon McCracken. The Dee keeper could only watch in horror as the ball crawled over the line.
Confusion was in the air as to whom had scored the goal as Olusanya bundled the ball in after McCracken’s error, but analysis confirmed that NISBET’s shot had crossed the line before the Englishman’s touch.
Minutes later, Aberdeen thought they had another. Former Dee Lyall Cameron swung a freekick from the right-hand side which Nisbet powered into the net. However, referee Steven McLean had yet to blow for the free kick to be taken, and the score remained 1-0.
A change of system from Steven Pressley saw Dundee grow back into the game. A long ball from deep caused confusion for Dons defender Liam Morrison, who caught Tony Yogane in the box while trying to chase down Simon Murray, with the referee pointing to the spot.
A lengthy VAR check confirmed a penalty for the Dark Blues and red card for Morrison, who was judged to have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity by the referee. Captain MURRAY, unfazed, thundered the ball into the top left corner to bring the game back to 1-1.
As half time drew near, it was Dundee again. A low cross from Imari Samuels met Murray close to goal, with the skipper attempting to turn and volley the ball into the net. His mishit shot found Cameron Congreve, whose quick feet powered a shot under Dons keeper Bråtveit’s legs, and bundled home by Joel COTTERILL for his first Dundee goal.
The Dark Blues began the second half as they had ended the first, with a series of good chances almost adding a third to Dundee’s tally. Aberdeen, under pressure and a man down, still threatened as Dundee were at times unable to progress the ball passed their own half.
The game turned on its head again as Kevin NISBET curled a free kick from 25 yards into the top corner, resoundingly beating McCracken whose outstretched arms could not match the spectacular effort.
Having to find a way back all over again, Dundee kept pushing. Yogane chased a ball over the top and was in on goal when a brilliant tackle from Nicky Devlin saw his shot deflected wide, as the Brentford-loanee awaits his first Dundee goal.
With five minutes to go and in the most unlikely of positions, Ethan Hamilton skipped past Cameron 25 yards out. With fresh memories from Celtic Park and angled sideways to goal, HAMILTON unleashed a thunderous strike that BrĂĄtveit could only watch clip the crossbar and fly into the top right corner.
A nervy last few minutes were well defended by Dundee, and as the final whistle blew Dundee could celebrate a first win at Pittodrie since 2004.
Dundee next face Hibernian at Dens Park on Saturday 28 February at 15:00.
Dundee 4-1-4-1
Jon McCracken
Drey Wright, Ryan Astley, Luke Graham, Imari Samuels
Ethan Hamilton
Cameron Congreve (Finlay Robertson 91), Yan Dhanda (Callum Jones 46), Joel Cotterill, Tony Yogane (Charlie Reilly 86)
Simon Murray (c) (Aldahir Valenzuela 86)
Unused substitutes: Kieran O’Hara (gk), Paul Digby, Aaron Donnelly, Callum Jones, Lewis Montsma, Joseph Bevan
Booked: Simon Murray, Imari Samuels
Aberdeen 4-1-4-1
Per Kristian BrĂĄtveit
Nicky Devlin, Liam Morrison, Tom McIntyre, Mitchel Frame (Kenan Bilalović 90)
Afeez Aremu (Ante Palaversa 46)
Toyosi Olusanya (Marko Lazetić), Dennis Geiger, Lyall Cameron, Topi Keskinen (Jack Milne 41)
Kevin Nisbet
Unused subtitutes: Dimitar Mitov (gk), Sivert Heltne Nilsen, Alexander Jensen, Nicolas Milanovic, Dylan Lobban
Booked: Kevin Nisbet, Nicky Devlin, Marko Lazetić
Sent off: Liam Morrison
Referee: Steven McLean. Assistants: David Roome, Kevin Buchanan. Fourth Official: Lewis Hogarth. VAR: Greg Aitken. Assistant VAR: Grant Irvine.
Report: Tom H. Wilson
