Dons wary of Norse legends
Ferguson recalls his Haaland hell
IN a land of legends, a country where elves and trolls are part of the folklore, at least one Aberdeen player can tell a scary story about his encounter with a mythical monster.
Having seen a young — or even younger, we should say — Erling Haaland rampaging through the ranks of a Scottish defence to inspire a fairytale comeback for the hosts, Lewis Ferguson dearly hopes that there isn’t another Norse great lurking in the ranks of the Viking Stavanger squad.
Scotland Under-21 international Ferguson, at the heart of the Dons team heading north to compete in tomorrow night’s one-legged Europa League qualifier against the Norwegians, revealed: ‘I played in Norway once in the elite rounds at Under-19s level for Scotland.
‘Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick against us when we were 4-2 up. We had 15 minutes to go and were going through, then the big man turned up. He was just a different animal that day.
‘That is the only experience I have had playing in Norway and it wasn’t a great one. I would like to have a better experience.’
Plenty of teams have been battered into submission by Haaland in recent seasons, of course, with the Borussia Dortmund striker now the most sought-after young centre-forward in world football.
What made it worse for the Scots, though, was the fact that they had all but dismissed the threat posed by the beanpole kid yet to grow into his frame.
‘It was the first time I had encountered Haaland,’ said Ferguson, grinning ruefully as he recalled: ‘We had watched videos of him — and I can remember this as clear as anything. They were playing Holland before us and he missed a sitter. It was a bad miss. I know he is a top player but it was a bad miss. ‘We all had a wee chuckle to ourselves hoping he played like that against us. But he was a different animal with his finishing and pace. You could tell he was going to go on to something great — and he has done that. ‘He has everything to be a top striker and we saw that a few years ago when we played against him. Now the rest of the world has seen that at the top level.’ Norwegian football’s reputation, as a whole, has received a lift by the performances of young players like Haaland and Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard.
It’s only natural, then, that European opponents look on travelling to Norway for qualifiers with a little more trepidation than was once the case. Aberdeen have been in fine form, though. And they head north with a burning desire to make amends for past Europa League failures. Last year’s 4-0 aggregate loss to Rijeka in the third qualifying round was hard for these players to take. They’re definitely in the mood to make amends.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s second qualifying round clash, Dons attacker Ryan Hedges reflected on that Rijeka heartbreak and admitted: ‘That had a big negative impact on the team. We were all looking forward to progressing to the fourth qualifier but it wasn’t to be. ‘We want to go further this year and even into the group stages. ‘If you look at last season it was a bit up and down. We are looking for consistency and to keep doing what we are doing.’ For a club without a single recognised fit and available striker just a few weeks ago, Aberdeen certainly carry a bit of firepower at the moment. Hedges singled out Wales team-mate Marley Watkins, signed as more than just emergency cover, as a potential game breaker when things get tight. ‘I was there with him at Barnsley, I had six months with him,’ said the left-sided attacker. ‘I know his qualities and what he can bring to the team. ‘I know he hasn’t got the goals yet but what he has done for the team is to be a menace and to create opportunities. ‘It is only a matter of time before the goals start to flood in for him. ‘All the strikers add something different and it all comes down to the manager’s pick for the games. ‘Marley comes in and gives us another dimension to what we already have up there.’