SM
Real Sociedad vs. Real Madrid: 12 hrs 58 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Europa League Qualifying | First Qualifying Round
Jul 18, 2019 at 5pm UK
 
AL

1-2

Kada (2')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Cosgrove (27' pen.), Ferguson (90')

Derek McInnes pleased with Aberdeen progress

:Headline: Derek McInnes pleased with Aberdeen progress: ID:365420: from db_amp
Dons win in Finland.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes hailed his players' character after they shrugged off an early setback to progress in the Europa League qualifiers.

The Dons fell behind inside two minutes against RoPS Rovaniemi in Finland after seeing a two-goal advantage cut in half in the dying seconds of the first leg.

But Sam Cosgrove's first-half penalty and Lewis Ferguson's stoppage-time strike earned a 2-1 win and 4-2 aggregate success.

McInnes told Red TV: "They scored in the last 30 seconds (of the first game) and the first 30 seconds, everything else has been pretty good for me.

"I am finding out a lot about my team, it's a new squad and we are trying to find our feet fitness wise and with the familiarity.

"Last week we should have been out of sight and the tie should have been far more comfortable here.

"The first goal I thought it might have been a foul on (Scott) McKenna and then the shot took a wicked deflection and loops over Joe (Lewis). That happens.

"For such a young team, young boys who probably wouldn't have been in that situation before, it's a big deal for us and a lot of pressure on them to deal with it. And they just dealt with the game. We controlled the game.

"They had their moments and they gambled towards the end, throwing bodies forward, we had to defend deeper and counter-attack. When composure, calmness and good decision-making was needed, we gave it."

McInnes will have summer signings Craig Bryson and Funso Ojo available in his midfield for the second qualifying round against Georgian side Chikhura Sachkhere.

He added: "While we are trying to work towards being at our best, it's good we can still overcome challenges.

"We had 33 shots in the first leg and probably something similar here. We could have made it easier on ourselves by taking the chances we missed but the work from box to box – calmness in possession, use of the ball from the back, is everything I want from my team."

amp_article__365420 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-07-18 20:55:40:
html db last update - 2021-02-15 06:09:58 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Derek McInnes

Click here for more stories about Aberdeen

Share this article now:
Read more about Derek McInnes Football
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .