Aberdeen 0-4 Hibernian: four second-half goals settle it at Pittodrie
Hibernian scored through McGrath, Wright, Cadden and Klidje after a goalless first half to win comfortably at Pittodrie on MatchDay 13.
By Harvey Watkins,
Hibernian left Pittodrie with a 4-0 win on Saturday evening. After a goalless first half, Jamie McGrath, Callum Wright, Nicky Cadden and Thibault Klidje all scored in the second. It was a heavy result for Aberdeen on their own ground, and the shape of it matters as much as the margin. Nothing separated the sides for nearly an hour. Once Hibernian went ahead, the match moved decisively their way.
A goalless first half
The first goal did not come until the 57th minute, so the teams went in level at the break. A side that ends up beaten by four goals at home is not always outplayed from the first whistle. For more than half of this match the scoreline gave no hint of what was to follow.
How the goals came
- 57 minutes: Jamie McGrath opened the scoring.
- 79 minutes: Callum Wright made it two.
- 87 minutes: Nicky Cadden added a third.
- 90+3 minutes: Thibault Klidje completed the scoring in stoppage time.
McGrath's goal was the turning point. Until then the match was in the balance. After it, Aberdeen had the rest of the second half to find an equaliser, and they did not score at all. Wright's goal on 79 minutes gave Hibernian a cushion. Cadden's on 87 put the result beyond doubt, and Klidje's in added time pushed the margin to four.
Four different scorers is worth noting. Hibernian's goals did not depend on one player having an exceptional evening. They came from several directions, and that tends to be harder to plan against than a single threat.
The timing deserves equal weight. Wright, Cadden and Klidje all scored in the closing stages, and a trailing side that pushes forward for a way back can leave space behind it. The late goals may say as much about the state of the game as about any gulf between the teams. A 4-0 scoreline describes the final whistle accurately. It describes the first 57 minutes much less well.
The previous meeting
These sides last met on 19 September 2026, when the match at Hibernian finished 1-1. That earlier draw suggested two evenly matched teams, and for the first hour on Saturday the pattern looked similar. What changed was the final half hour. Two meetings, one level and one lopsided, make for a short record, and it would be unwise to read too much into either result alone.
What it leaves
For Hibernian, this was an emphatic away win, with four scorers and a clean sheet at Pittodrie. For Aberdeen, there is the uncomfortable fact of a four-goal home defeat. There is also the more measured point that the game stayed goalless for nearly an hour.
One result on MatchDay 13 does not set the course of a season. It does give both clubs a clear reference point. Hibernian will take confidence from how they finished. Aberdeen will look at a second half that started level and ended four down, and at how quickly the match got away from them once the first goal went in.