It was very much a game of two halves at Harlaw Park as an Aberdeen XI held on to beat Inverurie Locos in an entertaining friendly.

The Dons took an early lead when trialist Morgan Brown’s left wing corner was deflected into the net after only four minutes. Ryan Harrington was denied a second when his delightful left-foot shot crashed off the post but the visitors were soon two goals to the good when Bruce Anderson dinked the ball home on the 20 minute mark..

Locos were creating chances but some inspired goalkeeping by David Craddock kept them at bay. The Dons looked to be on easy street when David Dangana rifled the ball past Reid on 38 minutes to give a half-time score of 3-0 to the Pittodrie Colts.

The appearance of ex Don Stuart Duff as a second half sub inspired Locos and they grabbed a goal on 52 when striker Neil Gauld took advantage of a slip by Craddock to prod the ball home. Both sides created further chances but it was Locos who found the net when Souter bulleted a header in from a corner just before the final whistle to make it 3-2.

Next up for the youngsters is a trip to Gayfield on Sunday to meet Arbroath.

Team: Craddock (Mair 89), Harrington, MacKenzie, Campbell (c) (Barron 60), Robertson, Roscoe, McLennan (E Ross 45), Brown (Chesser 60), Dangana, Anderson, Antoniazzi (Linden 78). Unused subs: Barry, Duncan.