THE PREVIEW: Aberdeen shook up Celtic in cup final ... are Jimmy Thelin's men capable of a repeat at Pittodrie?

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Having waited more than three decades to see their team lift the Scottish Cup, Aberdeen supporters will be more than willing to wait a few weeks before casting any serious judgments on their side at the start of this new season.
Which is why very few, if any, will be hitting the panic button after watching the team open up their Premiership campaign with a lacklustre defeat at Hearts on Monday evening.
Truth be told, neither the result nor the performance came as any great surprise.
The Dons came into the opening weekend as one of just two top-flight teams — Celtic being the other — not to have played any competitive football over the summer.
The dramatic penalty shootout victory over the Parkhead side at Hampden in May meant there were no Premier Sports Cup or perilous European qualifiers to worry about in July.
That was an added bonus at the time, no doubt, but the players were always likely to rock up at Tynecastle a little undercooked as a result.
There's no question that Derek McInnes' Hearts deserved to win that contest. They won't be competing for the title this season — despite Tony Bloom's admirable optimism — but there is still a whole lot for fans to be excited about.
That being said, some of the praise their team received on Monday was perhaps a little over the top.
The opening quarter aside, there wasn't a whole lot between the two teams. Hearts took their chances, Aberdeen didn't.
Therein lies the glaring issue for the Dons, and a source of reasonable cause for concern going forward.
Attacking options are very much in short supply following a series of notable departures at the top end of the park.
Pape Gueye, Oday Dabbagh and Kevin Nisbet are no longer at Pittodrie, while Kusini Yengi is the only recognised No 9 to arrive through the door.
Safe to say the former Portsmouth striker has a fair bit of work to do to convince the Aberdeen punters that he can cut it.
It's been hard to understand why so much trust has been put in a player who barely got a sniff at Portsmouth last season. Even when he did, he failed to find the net.
Aberdeen's scouting department must have seen something they liked, however. Even if the rest of us haven't.
The Australian's close-range miss midway through the second half at Tynecastle was brutal. As were the subsequent pelters hurled in his direction.
On a more positive note, his compatriot Nicolas Milanovic — signed from Western Sydney Wanderers — looked sharp. Sunderland loanee Adil Aouchiche also showed some decent touches here and there.
But the Dons clearly need strengthening up front before the end of the month.
A creative spark in the middle wouldn't go amiss either, with Jamie McGrath now thoroughly enjoying himself down the road at Hibernian.
Mind you, more bodies are needed across the board if Jimmy Thelin wants his squad to be competitive on multiple fronts.
Two Europa League qualifiers are to come before the end of August against either Steaua Bucharest or Drita of Kosovo (the Romanians are 3-2 up after the first leg), with plenty more midweek fixtures on the schedule before Christmas.
The club struggled to juggle European and domestic duties when it was last required two years ago, winning just three of their first 14 Premiership matches. It would be a shame to see a similar story unfold this time around.
Thelin has — quite rightly — got more than enough credit in the bank after guiding the Dons to their first silverware since 2014. A remarkable 11-game top-flight unbeaten run to kickstart his reign also helped his cause.
After St Mirren put an end to that sequence last November, however, he has overseen just five league wins.
With Celtic next up on Sunday, he will do well to make it six this weekend.
Brendan Rodgers' men hardly set the heather alight in a narrow win over the Buddies on flag day, but they boast a formidable record against the Dons in recent years.
A largely second-string side took five off them on league duty in May. In fact, you have to go all the way back to February 2016 to find the last time Celtic tasted defeat in the Granite City.
Incidentally, James Forrest, Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney were all on the park that day. Graeme Shinnie started for the hosts, too, as Ronny Deila's charges were put to the sword.
Blueprints for success against Celtic have been hard to come by since then.
It beggars belief there was talk of Martin Boyle not being handed a new deal at the tail end of last season.
Having played a major part in Hibs' revival under David Gray, he once again underlined his value by netting his 100th and 101st goals for the club in a stunning Conference League qualifying victory against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday.
While it was by no means a one-man show in the Serbian capital — Kieron Bowie and Rocky Bushiri also deserve a special mention — the 32-year-old's contribution in front of goal has put his side in a scarcely believable position going into the second leg in Edinburgh this week.
Boyle, who was also captain on the night, became the first Hibs player since Derek Riordan to reach the prestigious milestone, and has now joined the likes of the Famous Five as an undisputed club legend.