Aberdeen continue to hammer home the message that they are serious contenders to finish second in the Premiership as the men from the Granite City chiselled out a comfortable win over Hamilton.
Accies manager Alex Neil shunned the press after the game, disgusted at being booked in a first-half war of words with Derek McInnes, his Aberdeen counterpart.
Tempers flared between the two bosses in the technical area, which was perhaps indicative of the tension between these sides, a legacy of Hamilton's 3-0 win over the Dons at New Douglas Park seven weeks ago.
Factor in the late red card dished out to Jon Routledge, the Accies midfielder, following a spat with Aberdeen's Ryan Jack, and it could safely be said that the day didn't go well for the men from South Lanarkshire. Which was perhaps why Neil didn't show to address the media afterwards. Instead, it was left to his assistant, Frankie McAvoy, to offer his assessment.
"Alex is bitterly disappointed we lost 3-0 and feels he was unfortunate to be booked," he said. "I saw the incident and I don't think he should have been. But these things happen at the side of the pitch where two coaches get involved. There was an exchange of words and the fourth official felt Alex deserved a booking and Derek didn't."
The spat between the two managers erupted in the 23rd minute when Jonny Hayes was hurt in a head clash with Hamilton's Tony Andreu, and Neil was cautioned in the subsequent fall-out between the two dugouts. Aberdeen then broke the deadlock when Ash Taylor powered a header past Michael McGovern from a Niall McGinn free-kick. And then two goals in an energetic three-minute spell for the Dons settled the issue early in the second half, the first the result of an out-and-out blunder by Hamilton's Stephen Hendrie.
His careless square ball in the 52nd minute found McGinn and the Irishman's clever chip beat McGovern, who was stranded far from his line.
Three minutes later, as Hayes powered his way into the area, he was bundled to the ground by Grant Gillespie to concede a penalty kick, which was clinically converted by Adam Rooney.
The home side's dominance was, by now, palpable. It was clear that there was no way back for the Lanarkshire side and salt was rubbed into their wound as Routledge saw red with nine minutes remaining.
"I think Ash Taylor has shown a maturity for someone so young," said McInnes. "He has been unfairly criticised more than some of the others in the team. But he's always showed a good temperament and he's always brought a level of performance. When he's been good, he's been very good.
"This time last year we went on to win seven or eight games before we progressed in the semi-final of the League Cup. So we know the importance of being strong at this time of the season.
"We've got a very young squad, and a very young bench, and the squad will be important to us over this period."
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