Hamilton Academical 2-2 Aberdeen
- Published
Aberdeen lost ground on Celtic at the top of the Premiership after they were held by Hamilton Academical at the Superseal Stadium.
Accies's Dougie Imrie curled in a free-kick, but Greg Stewart beat the offside trap to chip Aberdeen level.
David Templeton and Darren Lyon missed good chances for the hosts and Kari Arnason headed Aberdeen ahead.
The lead lasted just two minutes before Templeton fired low into the far corner to give Accies a deserved point.
The draw means Aberdeen extend their unbeaten run away from home to 11 games, nine of them victories.
However, they now fall three points behind leaders Celtic, with Hibernian and Rangers both closing the gap on them.
The first real chance of the game produced the first goal. Imrie sized up a free-kick and struck a perfect effort with his left foot which flashed past goalkeeper Joe Lewis.
Two minutes later it was almost 2-0 to Accies. A long pass played in Templeton who burst clear of the Aberdeen defence. The Hamilton forward attempted a lob, but Lewis got a hand to the ball to bail out his side.
Templeton then had another golden chance. Docherty fired in a perfect cross ball, but Templeton chose to volley the ball and blazed the effort wide.
It was wasteful from Templeton who, with time and space in the box, could have taken a touch before taking on the shot.
Greg Stewart watches as his shot beats Gary Woods to draw Aberdeen level in the first half
Hamilton would immediately regret these misses. The ball was played forward to Stewart who dinked a finish over Gary Woods to score his first Premiership goal for Aberdeen.
Accies claimed for a penalty soon after, the suggestion being that Arnason handled the ball in the box. Amidst the melee of players in the box it was difficult to see. The Hamilton players were adamant but nothing was given.
Aberdeen upped the pressure in the second half. A corner from Stevie May resulted in Woods saving well to keep the score level.
Up at the other end Lyon rounded Lewis in the Aberdeen goal, but he fired his effort into the side netting.
Another chance came for May from a Ryan Christie cutback, but the effort from the former Accies striker flew over the bar.
But Aberdeen would take the lead from a corner. Arnason rose highest in the box to head the ball over the line, much to the delight of the large away support behind the goal.
However, the Aberdeen joy was short lived as Templeton made some amends for his earlier misses. The former Rangers man fired home to end this entertaining encounter all square.
Kari Arnason (far right) celebrates after making it 2-1 Aberdeen
Post-match reaction
Hamilton Academical manager Martin Canning: "I think before the game we would have taken a point against Aberdeen considering the form they are in, but I think on the basis of the game and the chances we created, we probably deserved more than we got.
"All over the park today there were big performances. I always know with the players I'm going to get 100%, I'm going to get full commitment."
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "We should be talking about a lot of the positives, especially in the second half, but unfortunately it's hard to talk about that when we've dropped two points.
"I'm just disappointed that having got ourselves in front and looking very assured at that moment in the game that we haven't managed to see the game out."