Aberdeen were held to a 0-0 draw in a scrappy Premiership opener with Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
There was little in the way of goalmouth action during the first half with two off-target headers from Duk the most notable efforts from the Dons.
The best passage of play from the home side came five minutes before half-time as they looked to hit Barry Robson’s side on the break.
No Dons player latched on to a Leighton Clarkson cross which allowed Livingston to counter with Joel Nouble holding off Graeme Shinnie and finding Cristian Montano down the left flank. He squared the ball across goal but Jamie Brandon was unable to apply the finishing touch under pressure from Jonny Hayes.
In the second half, Hayes should have put Aberdeen 1-0 up but he was unable to bundle the ball home at the back post from an inviting Leighton Clarkson cross.
Montano registered Livi’s best effort after the interval, as he forced Kelle Roos into action when he was afforded plenty of space to get a shot away inside the box, but it was well held by the Dons goalkeeper.
The home side piled on the pressure late in the game, and they went close again as Ayo Obileye saw a free header from a corner scrambled to safety by Roos.
With 96 minutes on the clock, Livi skipper Mikey Devlin almost secured the three points against his former side but his long-range effort soared just over the bar and onto the roof of the net.
Talking points
Slobodan Rubezic makes Dons debut
His transfer was only confirmed on Monday, but Slobodan Rubezic was given the nod to start in the centre of a back three for Aberdeen against Livi.
There were glimpses of why the towering centre-back was brought on board with the Serbian defender a real physical presence in the backline.
However, there was an early warning sign of the risk that comes with Rubezic’s aggressive play, as he was shown a yellow card by referee John Beaton after 27 minutes for a foul on Kurtis Guthrie – that was reviewed by VAR for a possible red.
In the dying minutes of the game, Rubezic made a tremendous block with his chest to deny Jason Holt, who had unleashed a curling effort from just outside the box.
A collision with Bruce Anderson saw the Livi forward stretchered off in injury time.
Polvara gets nod in midfield
With Ylber Ramadani moving on to Serie A side Lecce during the week, a place in the midfield became available and it was Dante Polvara who started to the right of Leighton Clarkson in the middle of the park.
The American’s vision and technique was at the heart of Aberdeen’s best chance of the game at that point, which came almost an hour in in Livingston.
An acrobatic flick of the ball over his shoulder saw Polvara get the ball forward to Miovski who linked up well with Clarkson. The midfielder then found Hayes a couple yards out from the back post, but he hit the side-netting.
After a loan spell in his home country last term, Polvara put in a promising display which suggested he could be ready to make a breakthrough at Aberdeen.
Dons will have to offer more
The 4,000-plus travelling support were in fine voice at the Tony Macaroni Arena, despite having very little to cheer about.
Aberdeen had 11 shots, but none were on target. Duk and Miovski had very little impact on the game, while it was Livingston who looked more likely to score as the game progressed.
Duk had two chances when he should have done better. He was hesitant to unleash a shot for one, while he sliced another wide late on in the game.
It is early in the season but the match will have been a stark reminder that work still needs to be done ahead of the Dons’ busy domestic and European campaign.
Talking tactics
Robson had utilised a 3-5-2 formation throughout pre-season and stuck with it for the Dons’ Premiership opener in West Lothian.
Referee watch
Referee Beaton waved away a penalty claim early on in the game after Ayo Obileye seemed to pull Bojan Miovki’s shirt in the box.
The official had a busy afternoon with Rubezic and Clarkson booked for Aberdeen in the first half, while Mo Sangare was shown a yellow for Livingston.
It didn’t take long for Beaton to get his cards out in the second half, as the game continued to be a feisty affair as Livi’s Montano and Mikey Devlin were booked, while Nicky Devlin and Hayes were also shown yellows.
The frustrating nature of the game was somewhat summed up when Dons boss Robson went into the referee’s book with 10 minutes left to play.
Player ratings
LIVINGSTON (3-5-2): George 6, de Lucas 6, Obileye 7, Devlin 6, Brandon 6, Holt 6, Sangare 6 (Pittman 46), Shinnie 6, Montano 7 (Penrice 74), Guthrie 7 (Anderson 61) (Mackay 93), Nouble 6
Subs not used: Hamilton, Parkes, Boyes, Kelly, Bradley
ABERDEEN (3-5-2): Roos 6, Devlin 6, Rubezic 6, MacKenzie 6, Morris 6 (Sokler 79), Polvara 7, Clarkson 6, Shinnie 6, Hayes 5, Miovski 6, Duk 5
Subs not used: Doohan, Stewart, Milne, Dadia, Barron, Besuijen, Marshall, Bavidge
Star man
Dante Polvara.
The midfielder did not look out of place in what was only his sixth start in a competitive match for Aberdeen.
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