Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has spoken recently about his wish for the Dons’ first round Europa League second leg against RoPS Rovaniemi.
He watched on at Pittodrie as the Red Army prevailed 2-1 over their Finnish opponents. A late away goal from RoPS has ensured that Aberdeen have to go over to Finland and play well to secure progression.
The Dons should have been out of sight. (Photo by Scott Baxter/Getty Images)
McInnes has now commented on his wish for the clash, an away goal.
He told RedTV: “We can take confidence from the fact the performance was good both individually and as a team. We created plenty of opportunities so if we can get something close to that again hopefully we can take a few more of them.
“The importance of scoring away from home is clear. Hopefully we can go and do that and try and settle the tie.”
If Aberdeen grant McInnes’ wish early, the tie is over
Even though the scoreline suggests a very close game, Aberdeen really should have been more than two up before RoPS scored.
It should have been three or four to Aberdeen. (Photo by Scott Baxter/Getty Images)
The Finnish side battled valiantly but the Dons were piling on the pressure throughout. They probably should have had three or four, but they couldn’t take their chances, allowing RoPS back into the game.
It showed though that Aberdeen are far superior to their opponents. With the advantage in the tie, if McInnes’ side score early on, the tie is over.
It’ll mean RoPS have to score three to win the game or two without reply to take it to extra time. Given that they only had a couple shots on target all night at Pittodrie, that will be difficult.
The likes of Andy Considine prevented RoPS creating much for the majority of the match. (Photo by Scott Baxter/Getty Images)
This side are no mugs though. Aberdeen will have to go over there and grant McInnes’ wish early to ease nerves. Because of a late lapse in concentration at Pittodrie, this tie is hanging in the balance.
It’s not going to be easy over in Finland and Aberdeen have to make sure they do what they didn’t at Pittodrie. End the tie quickly, before RoPS begin to believe they can cause a major upset.