Aberdeen 3 Hamilton 0: Style as well as substance dries up for Accies

We do not yet know the ending to this story, but we might safely assume that the poorly-supported, play-off winning Premiership club is experiencing the kind of difficult spell to make us wonder "what next?"

Their dip in form since administering a 3-0 drubbing to Aberdeen just over seven weeks ago, has seen them drop into fifth place in the league table, hardly a crisis situation. More worrying, perhaps, is that the fluid play for which they had become respected in the early part of the campaign when they were riding high, has evaporated.

At least, that was the impression as the Dons overwhelmed them in a game that was entertaining only if you were a supporter of the home side.

Hamilton may have held their own in a first-half that brought a 28th minute headed goal from Ash Taylor, the Dons centre-back, but there was no sign that they might threaten the Pittodrie defence, and when Stephen Hendrie, the Accies full-back, carelessly passed the ball to Niall McGinn seven minutes after the break and the Northern Ireland midfielder cleverly chipped Michael McGovern, too far off his goal-line, irretrievable damage was done and Aberdeen flexed their muscles.

"The next couple of months are going to determine our season," said McGinn, one of several star performers on show.

"We want to do the same again this season by winning the League Cup and improving in the league and consistency will be the key to doing that."

McGinn suggested that the attacking play of Dundee United, this weekend's opponents at Tannadice, will suit his side's style and counter-attacking.

"We're on the right road now," he added, "and we want to keep winning games and see where it takes us. Second place is anybody's and we have as good a chance as any of taking it."

A first-half booking for the Hamilton player-manager, Alex Neil, after he and Derek McInnes, his Dons counterpart, argued heatedly following a challenge involving Jonny Hayes, an outstanding midfielder for the home side, and Tony Andreu, sparked the verbal exchange and resulted in a yellow card for the man in the away dugout, an act that brought a self-imposed ban from the post-match media conference.

Aberdeen were to keep on the front foot and, even when Adam Rooney converted the penalty-kick awarded as Grant Gillespie bundled Hayes in the area, they continued to keep McGovern's hands warm with a series of rasping strikes.

But Gillespite insisted he was harshly punished over the penalty.

"I didn't feel I even made a tackle," he said. "I just felt that Hayes ran into me, so it's a bit soft.

'But we've got to take our medicine and move on.

'The ref allowed play to go on but then brought it back when there was no advantage and awarded a penalty.

"I thought it was supposed to be one or the other."

The controversial nature of this match was underlined nine minutes from the end as Jon Routledge and Ryan Jack, a smooth-running defensive midfield machine for McInnes's side, went for a 50-50 ball. Referee Brian Colvin did not like what he saw.

"I don't think Jon did enough to merit a red card," said Gillespie.

"The ref says he's punched him [when they were on the ground] but I don't think that's happened."

Routledge will be absent from Hamilton's home game against Dundee on Saturday, but Neil's difficulties lie deeper than a missing midfielder.

His side has won only one and lost three of their last five games and he will feel a desperate need to redress the balance to ensure the Hamilton story is more Rocky winning the heavyweight championship than Silvester Stallone missing out on an Oscar.

Frankie McAvoy, Neil's assistant and, at Pittodrie, his media-room understudy, gave a decent post-match performance.

"We've played 15 games," he said, "and from Hamilton Accies point of view we're happy where we are at the moment. It's important we don't get too low when we lose or too high when we win."