Last night’s game between Qarabag and Aberdeen in Baku was dire – but the Dons’ 1-0 loss means the Europa Conference League play-off is still hanging in the balance for the return at Pittodrie on Thursday.
I don’t think either side looked particularly good in the Azerbaijan heat.
Their goal aside, Qarabag maybe worked Joe Lewis in the Reds goal two more times, while I can’t remember Aberdeen having any real opportunities to score.
Although the heat was a factor, fundamentally the low-quality which was on show was in large part down to the absolute disaster of a park the teams were playing on.
It was ridiculous how rutted and bumpy the pitch became after just a few minutes of action, and it really seemed to cancel both sides out to a large extent.
Qarabag had the better of the first half, when the Dons struggled to get forwards Christian Ramirez and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas on the ball – or hold on to it anywhere else – for too long.
Their goal was the product of Jonny Hayes finding himself caught isolated and torn between which man to go with on the edge of the box, but I don’t think the shot would’ve beat Joe Lewis if it hadn’t gone through Hayes’ legs.
I think on a surface like that, where the ball can bounce funny and create mistakes, both teams should’ve been asking more questions by getting more quality service in the box.
I don’t think being down at half-time was due to a lack of effort from Aberdeen, but by keeping at it, and keeping the ball a bit higher up the park after the break, they started get themselves in the game.
The two young full-backs Calvin Ramsay and Jack Mackenzie were fearless in their running once more and, by carrying the ball up the pitch, they helped Stephen Glass’ men get out following any Qarabag pressure.
Another player who helped make sure the tie at the very least stayed at 1-0 was Connor McLennan.
Although the attacker, who replaced Emmanuel-Thomas at half-time, can have the tendency to try too much and get the ball caught in his feet on the attack, his pace and energy gave the Qarabag defence something to think about and helped keep the ball at their end of the park.
McLennan is still young and learning the game, but, with his fresh legs, he was able to do a lot of the running and chasing for the Dons out of possession, and it got to the point where the home team started to look like the more tired side out there.
All-in-all, it wasn’t the best performance, but it could’ve been a lot worse as well.
Still, we know 1-0 isn’t disaster away from home in a two-legged tie. We all know and have seen Aberdeen are capable of playing a lot better, especially at Pittodrie on a decent pitch.
If they find their level in the Granite City next week and leave everything out there, they have a great chance of scoring some goals and claiming their place in the Conference League groups.
Let’s hope Andy Considine’s injury is not as bad as it looked
I hope Andy Considine’s injury isn’t as bad as it looked when he was stretchered off early on against Qarabag.
The veteran centre-back seemed to twist his knee at an awkward angle in a collision with one of the home players and looked to be in tremendous pain when he went to ground afterwards.
Andy is no spring chicken, at 34 years old, and I just hope it was one of those incidents which looks worse at first glance than it actually is.
I did my cruciate ligament against Celtic late in my career and only managed to play one first team game afterwards.
Obviously in those days there wasn’t the same technology to fix knee problems they have nowadays.
In the aftermath of the game, Stephen Glass also sounded hopeful, saying it may not be a “long-term” injury.
No matter what the issue is, Andy has shown over his career he is a fitness fanatic, who will do whatever rehabilitation he needs to and return to the team, and has also demonstrated he is a fighter who doesn’t let obstacles or doubters stand in his way.
It’s up in the air, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens once the team are back in the north-east. Let’s hope he’s ok.
Red Army can roar the Reds into the group stage next week
The Aberdeen fans need to pack out Pittodrie next week for what is now the Dons’ biggest European game in 15 years.
An 18,000 sell-out will give Stephen Glass’ team the best chance of getting over the line into the Europa Conference League groups and all the benefits it brings.
Take it from me as a former player – I lost count of the amount of times the “12th man” helped us.
The boost you get if you’re struggling or you go behind and the crowd are there roaring you on is massive.
If Pittodrie is bouncing next Thursday no matter what happens, it could be a very big night.
They are only one game away from European group stage football for the first time since 2007/08.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.
