It was Pittodrie for thrills today as Aberdeen's two late goals earned a 3-3 draw with Dundee. In a dramatic finale, Jonny Hayes scored a penalty after 87 minutes and Ross Jack struck in stoppage-time. Having played two games more than second place Celtic, the Dons were looking to keep the pressure on the reigning champions with a ninth successive league win. They appeared to be on course with an early David Goodwillie goal, but Dundee struck three times in a 10-minute spell either side of the break. Despite seeing his team’s lead cut to two points, Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes took positives from the performance and praised the home support for lifting the team in the latter stages.
He said: "We showed great perseverance and character. They could easily have thrown in the towel at 3-1 down and just written the game off, but it might turn out to be an important point for us. We probably saw all sides to us. We started brilliantly and could have been more than 1-0 up as we were dominant. You have to credit Dundee with the way they played too, and certainly their first two goals were well-worked. There have been times over the course of the season where we've not been punished for failing to take our chances and kill the game off, and I felt that today we were punished for that. We started the second half well and hit the post before the sucker-punch of the third goal. I felt all three substitutes also had an impact in terms of giving the team a lift and looking to change the flow of the game. By the time the second goal goes in, the crowd get really behind us and it shows what can be done here with the noise and the support behind us if we get that going for us."
Dundee counterpart Paul Hartley felt his players slackened in the latter stages of the game and paid the price, despite an impressive display fore most of the game. He said: "At 3-1 up with 10 minutes to go you think the game's won but the game lasts for 90-odd minutes. I was disappointed for the players because they put so much into it. I thought we were in control and limited Aberdeen to very few opportunities. We came here with a game plan and we've probably given the best away performance there's been at Pittodrie this season. They were eight unbeaten with eight clean sheets, and we showed that we're not a bad team on our day. We just switched off a wee bit at the end. We seemed to get tired and then the penalty gave Aberdeen a lift. We had quietened the crowd and we felt that was important. Although we went a goal down, we kept playing and passing it."