Aberdeen 1 Hibernian 2: Riordan double piles pressure on Calderwood

IN THE game of managerial hangman playing out with Aberdeen's Jimmy Calderwood, yesterday's defeat might prove the equivalent of the rope being drawn on to the gallows sketched following previous home defeats.

The loss to Hibs wasn't as horrible as the reverses against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hamilton Accies, but that is wholly irrelevant. Aberdeen are now second-bottom of the league and have lost five matches in a row for the first time since the Steve Paterson era.

If anything, the manner in which they were condemned to a 2-1 defeat 12 minutes from time on a day they warranted reward seemed to demonstrate that they are a team powerless to escape a sorry fate.

With the game tied at 1-1, and after dominating for long spells of the second period, the home side invited disaster by allowing Colin Nish to try a low drive from long range. Aberdeen keeper Jamie Langfield stepped up to block but Derek Riordan was first to the rebound. His effort struck team-mate Steven Fletcher who was in an offside position on the goalline. His touch caused the ball to strike Charlie Mulgrew's hand but no official spotted that Langfield was in front of his defender, leading referee Mike McCurry to issue a red card and award a penalty coverted by Derek Riordan. It supplied the striker with his second gifted goal of the afternoon, following a dreadful mistake by Lee Mair for his opener.

"We didn't deserve to lose but that is the phase we are in," Calderwood said. "We absolutely dominated. We could have played better but the boys gave everything and I think supporters appreciated that. You could see that they were disappointed, but the reaction was worse after earlier defeats."

There were aimless jeers at the end, but no calls for Calderwood's neck. Yet, those who claim to be in the know about the fretting of the Aberdeen board maintain the Pittodrie club's games at the minute are all about either slowing up the manager's demise, or accelerating it. After four years in which he has returned respectability to the club's league status with consistent top-half-of-the-table finishes and presided over domestic cup losses to Queen's Park, Queen of the South and Dundee United, and, the other week, Kilmarnock, Calderwood now finds himself in a precarious position. And this just six months after he signed a new three-year deal that would necessitate hefty compensation should he be shown the door.

The theory goes that, as the Aberdeen punters fail to be won over by Calderwood – and won't ever be – after no wins from five home games they are preparing to desert Pittodrie in their droves. Cue the most ruthless remedial action sooner rather than later to prevent a gate receipt crunch; irrespective of Calderwood's league record, and a post-Christmas UEFA Cup run last season.

Aberdeen's predicament makes the travails of Mixu Paatelainen's Hibs team appear small fry. The Finn had enough faith in his men's attacking prowess to send out Riordan, Nish and Fletcher as a three-man strikeforce. Riordan's return has brightened up Hibs and the striker was delighted to win his first man of the match award, he said, for "ages, since I don't know how long ago. And you can't go wrong with that". His efforts prompted him to kiss the badge. Or, as he put it with a new take on an old football cliche, "the only badge I would kiss". Riordan opened the scoring in the 33rd minute after Mair was guilty of an appalling error of judgment. Hustled remorselessly by Fletcher – unfairly the Aberdeen man erroneously felt – Mair half-hit a passback that was collected by Riordan, who sashayed past Langfield and deposited the ball into the net.

Until that point both teams had traded shooting chances, with Hibs keeper Yves Ma-Kalamby thwarting Richard Foster, Darren Mackie and Lee Miller. The Belgian was only eventually beaten from a penalty, Miller executing a spot kick with utter conviction after he had been bulldozed in the box by Sol Bamba four minutes from the interval.

Aberdeen strained every sinew in search of a second goal during a second half that belonged to them until Riordan's penalty. Thereafter, it was as if all hope deserted them. Their followers would have understood that feeling.

MAN OF THE MATCH

He did so in such grandiose fashion that it was plain obvious he was exaggerating their degree of difficulty, but Yves Ma-Kalamby made enough good saves to consider he had a telling impact on the outcome.

QUICK FACT

Hibs had won just three away games across the whole of 2008 before yesterday's victory.

TALKING POINT

Is there any issue at Aberdeen other than the diminishing career prospects of manager Jimmy Calderwood? His team need to start winning sharpish, and follow it up with more of the same, if his position isn't to become untenable very shortly.