Dons hit by Hayes loss
DEREK McINNES insists Aberdeen can still overcome Maribor here tonight despite the shock of losing talisman Jonny Hayes to a training-ground injury. The Dons’ hopes of advancing to the Europa League play-off round were dealt a hammer blow when the Irish winger, scorer of the equaliser in last week’s 1-1 draw at Pittodrie, failed to travel to Slovenia for the second leg after straining a hamstring. ‘Jonny picked up an injury in
training yesterday which was obviously a concern,’ said McInnes. ‘It’s a blow. It’s one of these things we have to deal with because he’s a very important player. But we’ve dealt with playing without important players and still managed to get results. But there’s no doubt his pace in these games is really important. ‘We tried to keep it quiet but these things never stay quiet. I think the opposition were aware of Jonny, too, and the threat he poses. ‘It’s his hamstring but we don’t know how long he’ll be missing for. He’ll get a scan and we’ll find out, it depends on the severity. ‘Hopefully someone else can come in and take their chance — that’s the importance of having good attacking options in the squad. It’s someone else’s opportunity because Jonny would have played, no question.’ Hayes was a surprise absentee when the Dons’ delayed trip to Slovenia finally got under way late yesterday afternoon, with McInnes playing down the significance of his team being engulfed in more travel chaos ahead of a huge European game. Due to depart from Dyce Airport at 1.30pm, they were delayed by over three hours due to their original plane being grounded in Dusseldorf with a technical fault. An alternative aircraft was eventually sourced but the late departure meant the Dons didn’t arrive in Slovenia until 8pm last night. UEFA were satisfied the Scots had done everything in their power to arrive in the country 24 hours before kick-off — as their rules stipulate. Remarkably, the delay came just two weeks after McInnes’ men were held up for six hours after a bird flew into the plane due to take them to Latvia to play Ventspils. Despite his players not being able to familiarise themselves with Maribor’s Ljudski Vrt stadium last night, McInnes believes the delay will have no bearing on the outcome of the tie. ‘I don’t really want to dwell on the delay too much,’ he insisted. ‘We were always going to train in Aberdeen in the morning, so the players had to change their itinerary, have their lunch here, fly in and then head straight to the hotel. ‘I don’t think it’s too much of a drama, but obviously for the corporate guests we don’t like to change things too much. We wanted to stick to the plan but these things happen.’