Ross County 1-1 Aberdeen: William Akio's stoppage-time strike snatches point
- Published
Aberdeen thought they had earned a late win with Luis Lopes' 88th-minute volley
Ross County scored a stunning leveller in the fifth minute of stoppage-time to snatch an unlikely Scottish Premiership point against Aberdeen.
Jim Goodwin's Aberdeen had seemed set to claim a third straight league win with Luis Lopes' superb 88th-minute volley.
But William Akio scrambled the ball beyond goalkeeper Kelle Roos with the game's last act to deny the visitors.
Aberdeen move above Hearts into third, while County sit 10th.
Aberdeen were impressive last weekend in the dismantling of Livingston, and started by far the brighter of the two sides here, getting in behind and down the sides of County's defence with relative ease.
Ross Laidlaw was called into action twice in the early minutes, palming away Jonny Hayes' low drive, before the County keeper denied Vicente Besuijen from the tightest of angles.
That was as busy as the goalkeper would be in the first half though, as any quality dried up. On multiple occasions the visitors found themselves in promising attacking areas, but could not translate that into clear-cut chances.
For the hosts, their only chance of any note before the break came when Jordan White poked Ben Purrington's cross well wide.
After the break, the lack of cutting edge continued, as both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances.
As is so often the case, you felt a mistake or a moment of real quality was required to break the deadlock, and in the end it was a piece of brilliance from substitute Lopes.
Hayes sprung in behind down the left, and slid across to the Cape Verde forward, who superbly flicked it up for himself before volleying acrobatically beyond Laidlaw. The away fans celebrated by spilling onto the pitch, but their joy was short-lived.
With just seconds left, Jack Baldwin launched a long throw into the box, chaos ensued, and after Kelle Roos dived at the feet of Purrington, William Akio was on hand to stab home.
Player of the match - Jonny Hayes
The Aberdeen winger kept working right until the final whistle, and provided the assist that looked to have secured all three points.
Both sides lack end product - analysis
Both sides did score late on, but large periods of the game were characterised by sloppy passes and wasteful shooting.
County's pass completion was just 60%, with Aberdeen's not much better at 73%. It resulted in a scrappy encounter where both sides cancelled each other out.
For the visitors, it was a far cry from last Saturday, when Aberdeen cut through Livingston at will, although that was against 10 men.
Aberdeen did find themselves in promising positions on numerous occasions, but just could not pick out fellow white shirts. They had 13 corners, but most hit the first man or sailed over the danger area.
Lopes' goal was outstanding, but a draw was probably a fair result.
What they said
Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin: "It's a sickener at the end. In the first half, we dominated the ball and played the majority of the game in Ross County's half. But while we were on top, we weren't able to capitalise on it.
"We're kicking ourselves because it was a great chance to win three games in a row in the league, which is very difficult to do."
Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "Neither side deserved to lose that. In the box is where both teams could have been better. In between the boxes you had two top sets of SPFL professionals hard at it.
"I think [Leighton] Clarkson's tackle on Callum Johnson isn't good. I've got no interest in getting players sent off, but I think the referee has missed that. That could have been a leg-breaker."
What's next?
There is more Scottish Premiership action next Saturday. Aberdeen are in lunchtime action as they welcome Rangers to Pittodrie (12:00 BST), and Ross County are at home to Motherwell later in the day (15:00).