Jimmy Thelin admits Aberdeen need to start taking their chances

Posted Sunday, August 18, 2024 by PA

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin admits his side have to be more clinical after they had to rely on a stoppage-time goal from debutant Topi Keskinen to progress in the Premier Sports Cup.

The Dons had the better of the game against Championship opposition in Queen’s Park, but could have fallen behind had Zak Rudden been more clinical after a Jack Milne error.

Spiders keeper Calum Ferrie made several fine stops to keep his side in the game, and it looked to be heading to extra-time before Keskinen, who came off the bench following his move from HJK Helsinki, struck at the death.

Thelin, who lost striker Bojan Miovski to Girona in midweek, said: “It was a difficult game. We had some opportunities in the first half but they also had two really strong chances and sometimes you need some individual effort and luck to save these.

“We tried to stay consistent and in the second half we tried to attack them more from the sides. That was our solution but still it was 0-0. The team stayed calm and did not allow themselves to get frustrated – that would be easy to do.

“Keskinen hasn’t had too many training sessions with us, but he showed he can run in behind and also his dribbling and find space in between the lines. He’s a good complement to what’s already there and it’s a good start for him.

“It’s always nice when a new player can come in and make an impact”.

Queen’s Park boss Callum Davidson felt his side did everything he asked of them.

He said: “We played against Hibs in the group stages and they beat us 5-1 – we were wide open and they created a lot of chances.

“I think today you saw a bit more resilience – we defend as a team and the shift we put in today was tremendous. We had a couple of really good chances ourselves.

“I thought the crowd stayed longer with Aberdeen and their manager today which is frustrating for me. I thought with it staying 0-0 there could have been a few murmurings from the crowd, but it wasn’t to be today”.