The pressure mounted further on Barry Robson after Aberdeen were held to a 1-1 draw with Dundee at Pittodrie.

Bojan Miovski's 18th goal of the season had the Dons in the driving seat against the run of play but Lee Ashcroft nodded in a deserved second half leveller to earn a share of the points. Aberdeen remain eighth in the Scottish Premiership while Dundee leapfrog Hibernian into an elusive top-six position.

Neither team could maintain possession for long during a scrappy opening period and referee Nick Walsh was kept busy with lots of niggly fouls. You could tell Aberdeen's confidence was low and reflected their lowly league standing. 

Dundee were inches away from breaking the deadlock on 12 minutes as Zach Robinson got the better of Richard Jensen and powered the ball low across goal, however Amadou Bakayoko couldn't find a clean connection. 

The hosts then threatened through Miovski to no avail before Malachi Boateng tried his luck from distance as the game began to open up, with Graeme Shinnie spurring an excellent opportunity one-on-one with Trevor Carson shortly after. 

Aberdeen were awarded a penalty on the half hour mark when Joe Shaughnessy brought down Ester Sokler inside the box. Miovski stepped up and slotted it into the bottom corner from 12-yards to put the Dons ahead. 

VAR did check for a foul on Lyall Cameron ahead of the whistle being blown on a pretty drab first half but Leighton Clarkson escaped without punishment.

Sokler thought he had doubled Aberdeen's advantage with a clever finish early into the second 45 yet he was deemed marginally offside. And it was all square minutes later as Lee Ashcroft leaped highest from a corner and beat a weak Kelle Roos with a header. That equaliser gave Dundee a huge lift. On the other hand the disgruntled Aberdeen crowd made their feelings known. 

Robson rolled the dice for one final push as Pape Gueye, Ryan Duncan, Shayden Morris and debutant Killian Phillips all joined the action. Even so, not much would improve quality-wise despite both side's best efforts.  

Owen Beck had a tremendous chance to win the game for Dundee in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time but his curling effort went beyond the post and meant it would end honours even. And here's the key talking points.

Notable omissions 

Alarm bells were ringing throughout the Red Army when Duk wasn't named in the match day squad. The Cape Verde international, who has struggled to replicate last season's scintillating form, has been subject to transfer interest from club's down south and abroad. However, Aberdeen simply said the striker was absent through 'illness'. 

The visitors were without new signing Michael Mellon, who shone on his debut against Livingston at the weekend. The 20-year-old forward provided two assists and scored one himself in an impressive 29 minute cameo but missed the latest clash because of a 'slight injury'. Influential winger Luke McCowan was also suspended. 

Robson's future hangs in balance  

The Aberdeen boss made three changes for this one with Dante Polvara and Connor Barron dropping to the bench while Stefan Gartenmann was ruled out injured. In came Sokler, Jack Milne and Angus MacDonald - which meant another change in shape for the Dons. 

Despite the alterations from the 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle, the style of football still wasn't pretty and Aberdeen more often than not adopted to hoof the ball up to Miovski and hope for the best. Robson's men looked like they were set-up to sneak a narrow victory and didn't show the attacking intent people are crying out for. They gifted a Dundee goal from a set-piece which has been a regular occurrence in recent weeks. A point at home to the newly-promoted outfit isn't a good enough return and questions will continue to be asked of local lad Robson. Particularly because his men failed to lift the tempo when required. Champions Celtic come to town on Saturday so it's unlikely to get better.

Fan protests

Furious 'Ultras Aberdeen' had initially arranged a demonstration ahead of the match but after several pleas from fellow supporters and former players, it was changed to the aftermath. 

15,512 punters turned up on a cold Tuesday night but despite that, there was an eerie feeling around the stadium. European group stage football and a strong Viaplay Cup run had masked a poor league campaign where Aberdeen have won less than a third of their Premiership games so far and that's led to calls for change. Even more damning is the fact they've mustered just four clean sheets in the league to date. Loud boos rang out upon the full-time whistle and hundreds gathered outside the Main Stand to vent at the board as well as rookie head coach Robson. 

Beck effect 

Dundee fans were over the moon to see Owen Beck return for a second loan spell after the full-back had originally been recalled by Liverpool at the start of the transfer window following injuries to Konstaninos Tsimikas and Andrew Robertson. The youngster was eager to get more regular game time and asked to return north before Deadline Day.

And Beck displayed exactly why the Dee faithful sang his name throughout the match by showing immense tenacity to win the ball back and drive forward on several occasions. He provided the assist for Ashcroft's leveller whilst showing his quality and composure in both boxes. 

The Dens Park club have not tasted victory at Pittodrie since May 2004 and that long-run continues but manager Tony Docherty will be relatively pleased with their battling showing this time. They jump up into the top six - a terrific return to the top flight.