The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Rooney rule invaluable to the Dons
Forward’s been there, done that in rowdy Maribor atmosphere
Aberdeen attacker Adam Rooney knows all about scoring against Slovenian side Maribor and winning amid the raucous Ljudski Stadium atmosphere.
Done it once, can do it again.
The Irishman was on the books of the Birmingham City team which won 2-1 in Slovenia in the Europa League group stages in September 2011 and then scored the winner when the Blues won 1-0 at St Andrews when the sides met again that December.
Aberdeen’s 4-0 aggregate win against Latvians Ventspils secured the Reds’ place in the third qualifying round, with Maribor progressing on Thursday night after an away goals win against Bulgarians Levski Sofia.
The return to Maribor on Thursday week is a match the 28-year-old is relishing and he said: “I didn’t play in the away leg but their supporters were nuts. They had three men behind the goals with microphones, the stadium was just bouncing. It was a brilliant atmosphere throughout. They kept it going all game, I’ve not seen anything like it.
“Thursday night’s game against Ventspils was great but there was a running track around the pitch and there wasn’t a great atmosphere. Maribor will be a great game and it is a match we are looking forward to.
“We will take confidence from the last couple of rounds and how we have done over the last couple of years and, hopefully, we can get through.
“Scoring against Maribor was a great memory. Hopefully I can add a couple more to that.”
Rooney has scored 10 goals in European football – nine for the Dons – and is determined to continue his continental adventures.
Only Mark McGhee, John Hewitt and Drew Jarvie have scored more in European competition for the Dons than the former Caley Thistle attacker and, although McGhee’s best of 14 might have to wait, there is no doubting Rooney’s determination to get back to the business of scoring goals after injury problems last season.
Rooney thought he would only miss four or five days with a thigh injury suffered in February.
It ended up keeping the Dubliner out for nearly six months and he is determined to make up for lost time.
His winner in Latvia on Thursday was a composed and sharp finish after Aberdeen had toiled for most of the match.
Goalkeeper Joe Lewis’ superb penalty save to deny Antons Jemelins’ penalty – and the followup from Alans Sinelnikovs – proved pivotal and Rooney said: “We put in a shocking performance against Fola Esch in Luxembourg in the last round and we were determined not to do it again.
“It was difficult against a team which had hardly lost at home. We owe Joe a lot for saving the penalty. I was delighted to get through and we can look forward to the next round now.
“I had been full of confidence and scoring goals, so it was disappointing to get injured last season as I have not had many over the years. It was something new and I had to deal with it. I thought I might just be out for four or five days but it turned out to be a lot more serious than that. It was disappointing I was not able to help the lads out.”
The learning continues for this Aberdeen team but, after falling in the third round in each of the last two years, Rooney is determined this can be third time lucky.
Getting past Maribor and then a final play-off round offers the tantalising hope of remaining in European competition beyond the summer.
Rooney added: “The early rounds are difficult and we have been playing teams we don’t know a whole lot about.
“It is hard to judge how good these teams are going to be by watching videos but we always expected a tough game.
“It can be a lot more tactical against European teams. Ventspils were similar to a lot of British teams and a lot more direct but we have faced different styles of teams, such as Rijeka and Real Sociedad, and had to learn to cope with playing against different teams.
“In the last two years we have been knocked out in the third qualifying
“I didn’t play in the away leg but their supporters were nuts. The stadium was just bouncing”
round by Real Sociedad and Kairat Almaty, which was unfortunate, but we look forward to the games to come and – as in any competition – the thing to focus on is getting through.
“We are now not far away from the group stages, so the thing to do is take confidence from the wins and the clean sheets in the last two games and try to build on that.”
Rooney’s remit is to score goals but he is already an admirer of the man at the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Lewis, who has already made a significant and telling impression on his team-mates.
Finding a long-term replacement for Liverpool loan goalkeeper Danny Ward was one of manager Derek McInnes’ key summer tasks, and it seems he came up trumps with Lewis keeping former Scotland international Neil Alexander on the bench.
Rooney added: “Joe Lewis did his homework for the penalty against Ventspils and made a brilliant save but I think his save in the second half was better.
“It was a brilliant reaction stop at an important time and he gives a lot of confidence to the defence. We are fortunate to have Joe and Neil at club.”