Aberdeen run riot but Jimmy remains only half-pleased

bad turn riles calderwood as maguire hits hat-trick in opening rout of dzc

By michael gannon in holland

Published:

Chris Maguire scored his first hat-trick for Aberdeen in Holland last night but it was not enough to save the forward and his team-mates from an ear-bashing by Dons manager Jimmy Calderwood.

The 19-year-old Maguire struck three times in the opening 39 minutes to send Aberdeen coasting towards a 5-0 victory against Dutch lower league side DZC in Doetinchem in the opening match of their Dutch tour.

Lee Miller made it 4-0 before half-time before Jamie Smith grabbed a fifth with a quarter of an hour of the match remaining.

Calderwood was pleased with his side's first-half showing but was quick to voice his displeasure at the display after the interval.

He said: “I really enjoyed the first half. We played some good football and scored some good goals. The second half was sloppy, however, because we should have scored a few more. We showed great movement and vision in the first 45 minutes but after that it was not good enough.

“We were fortunate not to concede in the second half purely because we were sloppy and that is not on.

“Yes the first half was good but the game left me with a feeling of disappointment.

“Chris Maguire scored three wonderful goals but then he was sloppy in the second half along with the rest. He thought he had it made scoring three, but he should have scored six.

“We will have to play much better against Zwolle on Sunday because they will be tougher again."

Maguire was delighted with his first senior hat-trick and did his chances of starting the season up front with Lee Miller no harm at all.

The pair linked up well in the first half before the Dons took their foot off the gas and made several changes after the break.

Maguire's first goal was a sweetly struck shot from 20 yards, the second a cool finish from a tight angle after he had rounded the goalkeeper and the last was a predatory effort from six yards out.

He said: “I scored four goals last season and that is me threequarters of the way there. Hopefully I can get a lot more this year.

"In the warm up I was hitting shots all over the place so it was great to see them go in.

“I had chances to get a hat trick for the reserves in a few games but always seemed to get stuck on two goals.

“It was great to get the third and I was pleased with the finishes.

“Hopefully the manager can take my performances in pre-season into consideration when the new season starts.

“I am always confident that if given the chance I can score goals."

Aberdeen trialist Lescinel Jean Francois was unable to play last night after picking up a slight groin strain in a training session yesterday morning.

The 21-year-old is hoping to be fit for Sunday's match against Zwolle.

Dons midfielder Stuart Duff and defender Zander Diamond, while with the party, are unlikely to play in any of Aberdeen’s four remaining matches.