There’s no time to dwell on Maribor. We’re ready to go
AMID the gloom of another exit in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, the positives were not hard to find for Derek McInnes.
If the blunt reality of his team being a better side than Maribor over the two legs made the 2-1 aggregate defeat all the harder to stomach, that in itself was more than a crumb of consolation.
Year-on-year, losses at this stage to Real Sociedad, Kairat Almaty and the Slovenians have become ever more marginal.
Were it not for the performance of referee Nikola Popov — up there with the very worst Scottish sides have encountered down the years — there may have been no need for a post-mortem this time around.
Despite suffering the same fate as the previous two years, it could easily be argued that, man for man, the Dons are now a more potent side.
As fine a keeper as Danny Ward was for McInnes last term, Joe Lewis looks an accomplished replacement — last minute aberration aside. Willo Flood, David Goodwillie and Barry Robson, who have also moved on from the squad which faced Kairat, contributed to the Dons’ cause but their time had expired.
On the limited evidence to date, Wes Burns and — despite being sent off in Slovenia — Jayden Stockley also look extremely shrewd acquisitions.
‘I think we’re a stronger squad than last season,’ said defender Graeme Shinnie. ‘There are many different dimensions to our game now.
‘We’ll dust ourselves down and go again. We are all disappointed with how it went, but you saw last year the way we started the season and we’ve got to do that again.
‘It comes thick and fast starting at St Johnstone on Sunday. There’s no time to dwell on this. We have to move forward and get on with it.
‘Every season, no matter what happens in Europe, winning a cup is always on our minds. That’s always an aim for the club and us as a squad.
‘That won’t change this season. We’ll look to do our best in both cups. The focus just now is on the game on Sunday.’
Doubtless when the moment comes tomorrow, the events of Thursday will be forgotten.
Banishing it from the memory bank altogether may prove a taller order.
Aberdeen’s profligacy over the two games was, without question, one of the main reasons they again failed to progress.
But the display of Popov contributed to their downfall, too.
Notwithstanding the fact he failed to play advantage as Adam Rooney was sent tumbling in the box by Maribor keeper Jasmin Handanovic — a decision that robbed Niall McGinn of an opening goal — his whistle seemed to be permanently in his mouth whenever the Dons threatened.
So officious was his performance that breathing the night air inside the Ljudski Vrt Stadium seemed to be a punishable offence.
No one in red was safe from his pettiness but Stockley suffered most, picking up two soft yellow cards in the space of 10 minutes.
‘He was poor,’ added Shinnie. ‘Every time the ball went into their box, especially in the second half, he was blowing for a foul — God knows what for.
‘He sent Jayden off which I think was a terrible decision. I don’t understand the new rule about the penalty. We’ve gained nothing out of it. Fair enough, you get the chance of a penalty but Niall’s tapped in for a goal, so we’ve gained nothing.
‘I don’t know if the fact the goalie wasn’t sent off is the referee’s fault. I’ve heard there’s a new rule but he could certainly have played advantage. McGinn’s put the ball in the net which should have been a goal for us.
‘I didn’t get any justification from him. Every time I tried to speak to him he told me he was going to book me and send me off. I was on a booking, so couldn’t keep asking him as he’d have sent me off.
‘Everyone could see it — every time the ball went in the box he was blowing for a foul and I can’t understand why.
‘I don’t think either of Jayden’s yellows were justified. It’s a boy and a big centre-half going for the ball. Their centre-forward was doing the same the whole game.
‘He got booked for it but he did more throughout the rest of the game and nothing was given. It’s frustrating that we’ve gone out.’
It was a night when absolutely nothing went Aberdeen’s way. For the first time in 15 attempts, Rooney had his penalty saved.
Then, in stoppage time, Shinnie’s routine back-pass took a wicked bobble and evaded Lewis’ swipe to give Maribor an ill-deserved win. Not the 25th birthday present the defender was hoping for.
‘I made a tackle at the edge of the box then knocked the ball back,’ he recalled. ‘I’d turned around to start getting back up the pitch again and then just heard the roar from the crowd.
‘It’s one of those freakish ones, I’ve rolled it back to Joe and it’s taken a massive bobble.’
Rooney’s momentary aberration has already been forgiven, though. Asked if the Irishman would remain on penalties, Shinnie replied: ‘Without a doubt he’ll stay on them. He’s done so well for us and has dug us out of holes on so many occasions.’