Source: Team_Talk
Dons gain ground in race for Europe
The Dons ground out a 1-0 win over Hamilton on Saturday thanks to a wonderful first-half strike from Chris Maguire.[LNB]The result means the Dons move up to fourth following Dundee United's defeat to Motherwell and have edged closer to Hearts following their Edinburgh derby defeat to Hibernian.[LNB]Calderwood admitted his side were far from their best against a patched-up Hamilton but said it was vital his side came away from the scrappy match with all three points.[LNB]"We have slipped up in recent weeks when Hearts and Dundee United have dropped points so the most important thing was to get the win," he said.[LNB]"I don't think the wind or the pitch helped the game but we didn't create much going forward.[LNB]"I would like to think it was the wind that ruined the game because the players are certainly much better than that.[LNB]"But you never know how big that result will be for us come the end of the season."[LNB]The Aberdeen manager believes his team are now back in the running to finish third in the league.[LNB]Calderwood added: "I understand we are back into fourth but we want to finish higher in the league than that.[LNB]"But, first and foremost, we still have to make sure of getting into the top six as Hibs and Motherwell both had good results so it is going to be very exciting to see who gets into that top six."[LNB]Calderwood said he was delighted to see Chris Maguire cap a rare first-team start with such an impressive strike.[LNB]"The goal was fit to win any game," he added. "Chris has that ability in his locker and it was probably one of the only highlights of the game."[LNB]Accies boss Billy Reid admitted his side did not create enough openings to take anything from the game.[LNB]"I thought Aberdeen's goal may have come against the run of play but it was a fantastic strike," he said.[LNB]"In the second half we huffed and puffed but didn't create a lot. We were always in the game at only 1-0 down and I don't think Aberdeen dominated at any stage but they looked more dangerous than us going forward.[LNB]"They deserved to win the game and we have no complaints with the result."[LNB]The Accies were missing a number of key players and had other members of their small squad playing through the pain barrier at Pittodrie.[LNB]Reid admitted his side's continuing injury problems are becoming a growing concern.[LNB]He added: "We have quite a few problems at the moment and Martin Canning and James McArthur played today despite needing operations. We don't want to use that as an excuse but we certainly looked jaded in the second half."[LNB][LNB]
