Aberdeen 2-1 Hibernian

Apr 27 2008 Euan Mclean At Pittodrie

RAGING Mixu Paatelainen blasted his hotheads for pressing the self-destruct button as their lack of discipline put a huge dent in Hibees' European hopes. Scapegoats Thierry Gathuessi and Colin Nish were sent off for dissent in a stormy second half that saw Hibs surrender a one-goal lead - and pass up a golden chance to leapfrog their Euro rivals into third place.

With Motherwell and Dundee United drawing in the early game yesterday, Hibees knew this was their big chance - and it looked like they would take it when Dean Shiels struck the opener early in the second half.

But super sub Darren Mackie hit back and Gathuessi was the villain, gifting a penalty converted by Lee Miller that gave Dons the lead then wrecking Hibs' chances of a comeback by getting sent off for DOUBLE dissent.

Nish followed him just NINE minutes after coming on as a sub for Steven Fletcher and Paatelainen blasted the duo.

He said: "I'm gutted to lose.We got our goal and after that we pressed the button that destroyed us.

"If players talk to the referee they are asking for trouble. Both should have known better and realised that if you argue with the match official you lose every time.

"I'm surprised the ref got into dialogue with the players but Thierry was booked and when he carried on talking there was only one solution.

"As for Nish, if you call the referee names then you deserve to go.

"We will deal with matters internally to make sure the players know better.

"This was a big chance missed with Motherwell and Dundee United drawing and we were a goal up.

"That makes it doubly disappointing - but we still have a chance. We are two points behind Motherwell, which is just one victory, and we will go for it."

The stormy second half was in complete contrast to a quiet first 45 minutes that had few incidents of note.

Hibs skipper Rob Jones had to clear a Miller header off his own line and at the other end Felipe Morais fired a good effort through a forest of legs - but Jamie Langfield clawed the ball round the post.

It was after the re-start that this game really sprung to life. The desperate Dons defending that has blighted their season struck again on 54 minutes.

Zander Diamond's weak clearance went straight to Shiels deep in the Dons half and the Northern Irishman skinned the defender on his way into the box to rattle a deadly low finish beyond Langfield.

That prompted Dons to make a change, Mackie for Chris Maguire and the sub striker made a quick impact as the home side hauled level in the 62nd minute. He got lucky when Stuart Duff's through ball sent him running at Martin Canning.

The defender's tackle took a favourable break to let Mackie press on and slot a cool finish across keeper Andy McNeil.

Then came the moments of madness that cost Hibs the game - and the man responsible for both may never be forgiven if it ends up costing them a place in Europe too.

Gathuessi's first mistake was to concede the decisive 69th-minute penalty for a push on Miller in the box, although Paatelainen later slammed that decision.

He said: "It was NEVER a penalty. I have watched it on TV and it was maybe a penalty in volleyball but not in football."

But there was a definite nudge in Miller's back and the hitman duly dusted himself down to give Dons the lead with a cool finish from the spot.

But it was the Frenchman's stupidity two minutes later that really sold out the team.

He copped a booking for dissent then ignored the pleas of Shiels to calm down and earned himself a second yellow for continuing to bark at ref Stuart Dougal.

Things only got worse for Hibees as Nish earned a STRAIGHT red for dissent, which suggests what he called the ref is not fit for publishing in a newspaper.

Down to nine men for the last 10 minutes there was no way back for Hibs and they were left cursing a huge chance blown in the race for third.

MATSH STATS

4 SHOTS ON 3

12 SHOTS OFF 5

2 OFFSIDE 3

12 FOULS 13

8 CORNERS 6

2 BOOKING 3

REF WATCH

STUART DOUGAL was right to send Gathuessi and Nish packing but no-one emerges from scenes like this one covered in glory. The whistler was too willing to engage the players. But the Hibs stars should bear the brunt of criticism for losing the plot. The penalty was slightly soft but there WAS contact on Miller. Rating: 6/10.