Aberdeen’s Kevin Nisbet scores to make it 1-0 during the Scottish Premiership match between Dundee and AberdeenSNS

Kevin Nisbet fired Aberdeen in front with a low finish

Cam Wanstall
BBC Sport Scotland

Aberdeen won their 12th consecutive game to maintain their 100% record under Jimmy Thelin by defeating Dundee at Dens Park.

Kevin Nisbet, filling in for injured Premiership top scorer Pape Habib Gueye, put the visitors in front with a precise finish after winger Topi Keskinen exploited a Billy Koumetio error.

Koumetio would again be at fault for Aberdeen's second, prematurely racing out of defence to support an attack, before Mo Sylla was dispossessed by Graeme Shinnie.

The Aberdeen captain fed the speedy Keskinen, who pulled clear of Koumetio to fire in low past Jon McCracken.

The hosts continued to charge forward in numbers despite the deflating double, with Lyall Cameron's arrowed effort forcing a strong stop from Dimitar Mitov.

Dundee did haul themselves back into the tie when Gavin Molloy tripped Simon Murray in the box as the striker looked certain to score. And Murray sent Mitov the wrong way from the spot.

After latching on to a long McCracken punt, Scott Tiffoney jinked around Jack MacKenzie to force an excellent low stop from Mitov just shy of the hour mark.

Dundee showed glimpses of promise in an intense second-half battle, but Aberdeen remained resolute to emerge victorious.

Dundee undone by indecisive defence

Dundee were hampered by early defensive errors.

Former Liverpool centre-back Koumetio was not the only one to struggle with the pace of Finnish winger Keskinen, but his two mistakes cost the hosts dearly.

The Dundee defence continually looked out of shape before the break, as Aberdeen found plenty of joy in behind the hosts’ backline.

Ethan Ingram and Clark Robertson impressed despite their side’s defensive frailties, while energetic pair Lyall Cameron and Scott Tiffoney did well in attack.

But there was not enough creativity from the remainder of the side to craft enough chances to threaten Dimitar Mitov.

Despite the defeat, Dundee can be pleased with their intensity in the second 45, which might have paid off on another day.

Keskinen and Nisbet step up

Aberdeen have become the first non-Old Firm club to win their opening six Scottish Premiership matches in nine years. Last last to do it? Themselves in 2015-16.

Despite the absence of league top scorer Gueye, they looked a threat. Nisbet fired the visitors in front but it was Finnish winger Keskinen who shone brightest.

Keskinen assisted Nisbet before snatching a goal of his own on 32 minutes, while continually causing havoc at every opportunity on the right flank.

A resolute display followed in the second half as Thelin’s side sat deeper to counteract the persistent waves of attacks thrown at them.

Aberdeen's lack of attacking threat following the interval showed as they only had eight shots on goal - a current season Premiership low for them - and endured a 30-minute-plus barren shooting spell in the second half.

Thelin made smart changes at the correct time; sacrificing Nisbet, Keskinen and Leighton Clarkson as time wound down to provide more energy to his tiring team.

What they said

Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "It’s not very often both managers say the better team lost. Fair play to Jimmy, he said after the game that we deserved more.

"They had two shots on target, we had six. Sometimes you don’t get your rewards in a game. I’m gutted we didn’t win a game we deserved to win."

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin: "It’s still September and the league stops in May, so we need to be humble, keep working and push ourselves to be better.

"We need to keep the good team spirit. How the players helped each other today was amazing to see."

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