Cliftonville 'fully deserved' Irish Cup win
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Press and Journal
2 hours ago
- Press and Journal
Richard Gordon: Aberdeen's defeat at Tynecastle highlighted the need to bolster the squad before transfer window closes
The Dons' Premiership campaign got off to a sluggish and unconvincing start at Tynecastle, and they could have no complaints about heading back up the road pointless. Hearts were the more aggressive, more determined side right from the off, dominated the first half, and despite a brief mini-revival after the interval, the home were deserved winners. They had clearly benefitted from playing four Premier Sports Cup group matches and looked so much sharper throughout, while Aberdeen appeared undercooked after a pre-season which included just three warm-up matches. That might have been a mistake given how much more ready Derek McInnes' men were, but even another couple of friendlies might not have helped; there is no substitute for competitive action, and with the later start in Europe, there was no way round that for Jimmy Thelin. There was much focus on Kusini Yengi, naturally so given the two gilt-edged chances he spurned, and for the most part he looked like a striker who hasn't scored a club goal since April 2024. The Aussie is clearly bereft of confidence, and needs time to settle into his new surroundings, but he will not get a whole lot of that, because the Dons need someone capable of finding the back of the net now; they do not have the luxury of waiting a few months. While there have been success stories in recent times – Bojan Miovski and, eventually, Kevin Nisbet – too much money has been splashed out on forwards, some of whom are still at the club, who look anything but regular goalscorers. It is too early to make any real judgement on Yengi, but he looked less than convincing on his first proper outing, and has some work to do if he is to become Aberdeen's go-to centre-forward. There has been much talk about Marko Lazetic, who seems to be highly-rated, but remains largely unproven, and has no real track record as a goalscorer. That potential deal seems to have stalled, so it might well be that the Dons have to look elsewhere. They will need to act fast. As well as Hearts, Hibernian have started impressively and recorded a notable win in Europe; the opposition look in fine fettle at this stage. The first weekend left Aberdeen bottom of the table, the defeat following on from four straight losses to finish off the 2024-25 league season, and it extended the largely dismal run stretching back to last November. Given that, the visit of the champions is probably the last fixture they would have wanted, and while Celtic were nowhere near their scintillating best in the win over St Mirren, they will travel north, as they always do, in full expectation of securing the three points. While they have picked up a few draws along the way, not since February 2016 has there been a Dons victory at Pittodrie in this fixture. This would be the perfect time to end that run, but the performance will have to be considerably better than we saw at Tynecastle if they are to even give themselves a chance of doing so. Aberdeen were sanctioned by the SPFL this week after being held responsible for the actions of a group of fans who continue to put lives at risk with the senseless use of pyrotechnics and flares. For now, the punishment has been suspended, but if there is any repeat, the Merkland Stand will be partially closed. The Red Shed has been a welcome addition to the atmosphere at Pittodrie, generating colour and noise, but certain supporters seem to feel they are untouchable, above the law, and unless they rein in their behaviour, their actions could have serious repercussions. The Dons are by no means the only club affected; plenty others have been targeted by the authorities as a result of the mindless behaviour of some of their fans. It is a trend which has gathered pace in recent years, and it is going to have to be stopped. If it continues, someone is going to be seriously injured, or worse. I would hope the supporters in question come to their senses and eventually realise that.
Press and Journal
2 hours ago
- Press and Journal
EXCLUSIVE: Aberdeen transfer target Marko Lazetic has European top-5 league ability, says striker's former manager
Aberdeen striker transfer target Marko Lazetic just needs goals to kick-start his career, because he is a forward with the talent for the 'top five leagues in Europe', his former manager – a current Serbian SuperLiga boss – has told The Press and Journal. Dons chiefs ramped up talks, which started during the January transfer window, to try to push through a deal with Italian giants AC Milan for 21-year-old Lazetic this summer. And despite a delay due to the Serie A club's sell-on clause demands, a deal in principle has now been agreed between Aberdeen and Milan, paving the way for the switch to be completed, with personal terms and work permit formalities not expected to be an issue. The Red Army's calls for striking reinforcements have increased in volume following a Premiership campaign-opening 2-0 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle on Monday, where recent addition, Australian international frontman Kusini Yengi, 26, really struggled for Jimmy Thelin's side. With Aberdeen set to face either Romania's FCSB or Kosovo's Drita in Europa League play-off action later this month, the need to secure Lazetic from Milan or other options is intensifying. Lazetic made his debut for boyhood club Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) in 2020, aged 16, netting once in 17 appearances for the Belgrade outfit before Milan signed the youngster for close to five millions euros in January 2022. However, he has made just two appearances for Milan, going on loan at Austria's Reindorf Altah, Dutch club Fortuna Sittard and then, last season, back in Serbia's top-flight with TSC Backa Topola. Having not netted during his short-term stints in Austria and the Netherlands, a full 2024/25 campaign with TSC saw Lazetic rack up 43 outings and get back on the scoring trail, with three goals (and an assist) across the season. Experienced gaffer Slavko Matic took over as TSC manager in February, lifting the club from 13th of 16 teams and into the top half for the championship section of the Serbian season, before only missing out on Europe due to a final-day showdown loss against Radnicki 1923. A mainstay of Matic's TSC team, Lazetic's only goal after his appointment came in the penultimate victory over OFK Beograd. However, the boss was 'very, very satisfied' with the striker, and thinks a switch to Aberdeen would be a 'very good step' for his fellow Serb's career. Giving his assessment of Lazetic, Matic told the P&J: 'He's strong, he's strong. He has very good speed, very good speed. 'And (he's) a very hard worker in defence phase. 'Today, if you don't have this first block up, it's difficult. 'You must run today, this modern football, in two ways. You must help, you know, in both phases – in offensive, in defence – a lot of transitions, and it's not easy for young players who didn't work that before, you understand? 'But he has served very well. I was very satisfied with him. 'He's a tall player, but very good co-ordination. Very, very good acceleration, speed. 'He knows how to play.' Matic thinks the final – crucial – piece of the puzzle for Lazetic is the goals starting to flow more regularly for the forward, but said: 'I really believe that he will have a good career. I really believe.' The manager added: 'He missed some chances, didn't have luck. 'He was probably more tired than before, because I used him a lot in defence – but that was my system. 'But I think he need only start to score goals and, after, goals will come. 'Listen, AC Milan – they don't miss too much about players. You understand me?' Boss Matic – who is now in charge of Radnicki Nis in the SuperLiga and three matches into the new season (with a loss, a win, then a draw) – believes Lazetic's footballing emergence was stifled by his big move to Milan coming when the frontman was still a teenager. But he added: 'He is still very, very young, but he have a good experience now because he played a lot of games (for TSC)'. Matic said: 'A big problem for him, in my opinion, is because he came (to Milan) too young. 'He was 18, he signed, you know – media, people around… a good contract is difficult for young men from the Balkans (to turn down).' Despite having a contract with one of European football's great clubs, Matic was also quick to praise Lazetic's personality, lack of ego and desire to keep learning and improving. He said: 'First of all, I can say he is really, really nice person. 'Very, very strong and good character, you know. 'Big players have big ego – he is a guy… when you are young, 18 years, and you go to Milan and sign big contract, for our mentality, it is very, very difficult. 'He is a big professional, always works hard, always does extra work. He has a personality to coach. 'Marko – I didn't have one minute of the training that he wasn't focused on the work, (or) he didn't run. (Or) he didn't do what I said. 'I don't have nothing, if you ask me, something that is negative (to say) for him. 'He needs to start to score. But I believe when he starts to score, it will come – everything. More confidence, more everything.' Manager Matic – who gave current Dons centre-back Slobodan Rubezic his senior debut during two stints in charge of another Serbian club, Novi Pazar – welcomed Aberdeen's interest in signing his former loan player Lazetic. He thinks a step up in quality to a league like the Scottish Premiership was an important developmental stage the younger Lazetic missed. He said: 'I think that Scottish league is a very good step for him. 'If you ask me, I would do that – (go to Scotland or) go to Belgium league, go to Holland league, then go to… (a bigger league) 'He missed that step. Now he has that step, I think. 'I think it's a good step for him. 'If something happens, I will be happy.'
Press and Journal
2 hours ago
- Press and Journal
WATCH: Aberdeen's midfield pairing puzzle assessed - who should Jimmy Thelin pick?
After Aberdeen's first two matches of the new Premiership season, our sports journalists Ryan Cryle and Paul Third sat down to discuss Jimmy Thelin's midfield puzzle. Who are his best duo in the centre of the park? So far this campaign, where the Dons have lost 2-0 to Hearts and then Celtic, manager Thelin has deployed a central midfield pairing of Sivert Heltne Nilsen and Leighton Clarkson, and Nilsen and skipper Graeme Shinnie, respectively. In Sunday's defeat to the Hoops at Pittodrie, the Reds boss subbed off veteran pairing Nilsen and Shinnie for Clarkson and Polvara over the second half – with the latter, especially, a player fans are desperate to see get more opportunities as a starter. The Aberdeen gaffer also has Croatian former wunderkind Ante Palaversa – a regular last term – and Icelandic current wunderkind Kjartan Mar Kjartansson, among his options to fill two berths in his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation (if we accept French loanee Adil Aouchiche is the first-choice no.10). What have we learned so far this season, including in the friendly loss to English Championship Ipswich Town, about (some of) Aberdeen's midfield candidates? Which individuals have attributes which our writers think mesh up well together in the middle of the pitch? Where do lesser-used options like the attacking Polvara and 'complete' defensive midfielder Kjartansson fit into the plan? And who would our writers pick as the Dons try to get up and running in a campaign where they have guaranteed European league phase football to look forward to? Let us know what you think in the comments!
