Even in defeat at Celtic Park, Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin pointed to some positives in the way his side handled the pressure compared with earlier in the season.
“How the game started, we wanted a more front foot approach to the game, but Celtic were better than we were. But we stayed in the game, and then we got the red card.
“In the beginning of the second half, we tried to keep some more threats up front and give us a chance to transition, but we were a little bit lucky in the first 10 minutes and Dimi made some good saves.
“After that, we adjusted a little bit again and from then on, I think we did quite a stable performance. Under pressure, we were more mature, closed the gaps and waited for that transition to happen. We made the changes and that helped us in defence, but it also gave us different chances going forward. This helped us score the goal.
“Kjartan and Kenan did really well in that moment to get the equaliser and from that on, we kept them to more shots from distance shots and did quite well. Of course, there were some minutes left, the point was there to grab, but then the goal they scored maybe was too easy.
“I think you have to say it is a fair result, but did our players work really hard and show team spirit? Yes, they did. We wanted to grab that point, but we unfortunately didn’t today. But there were a lot of good things from us, the maturity in the team.”
Kenan Bilalovic came off the bench to score his second goal in two games, while young Icelandic midfielder Kjartan Kjartansson made an outstanding Dons debut too.
“When they join us, Kjartan and Kenan needed time for adaptation and to get used to the intensity and the physicality here. We have training every day and they adapt, they grow and they compete. It was good to see them today in a difficult away game, in a difficult moment. How they stand up in the challenges and show themselves, their personality.
“That’s so important when you get the chance to show really who they are. It’s about this responsibility. I don’t care about the age, it’s about how you show yourself. I think both of them have grabbed these moments. Kenan already did this in the last game. ‘This is me, this is what I’m good at,’ and today Kjartan did the same. They can be very pleased with how they play.
“Today was a difficult situation for Dylan and I don’t think the red card is his fault. His start in the first team in Aberdeen has been a really good start for him. He has played in Europe, he played in the Under-21s of Scotland, he played in the Aberdeen first team. We are so proud of him and he’s done a lot of good things, so I don’t put the red card on him. It’s football, sometimes these moments happen.”
