Aberdeen Tactics Watch: Hearts' approach and what Jimmy Thelin's Dons can learn for must-win Hibs Premiership clash

Press and Journal

22-04-2025

Alongside the outpouring of joy which followed Oday Dabbagh's Aberdeen winner against Hearts at Hampden, the strongest emotion was relief.
For the second consecutive weekend, Aberdeen failed to defeat 10 men in 90 minutes.
But thankfully, in the end, we were spared back-to-back semi-final penalty shoot-out exits in the Scottish Cup.
Hearts boss Neil Critchley's diamond formation has not been popular among the Jambos support, but he stuck to his guns against Dons on Saturday.
Lawrence Shankland's positioning higher up alongside James Wilson and Elton Kabangu often made it a 4-3-3 out of possession, especially as Aberdeen adapted and dropped Leighton Clarkson into their backline.
Hearts were very aggressive in their press, often committing six players into the Aberdeen half (as the image above shows).
But, early on, they were aided by a number of Aberdeen turnovers – some under pressure, some with reduced teammate availability, but quite a few from basic mistakes.
As the Dons had expanded the field while on the ball, losing possession created dangerous situations to defend, and they were fortunate to get away with such mistakes.
Their next opponents in the Scottish Cup, fellow finalists Celtic, will not let those errors go unpunished.
The most dangerous player for Hearts was left-back James Penrice, who was a consistent threat with his attacking runs and delivery from deep.
In the Hearts build-up, midfielder Cammy Devlin dropped into left-back, allowing Penrice to get the ball higher up the field.
Penrice was able to get away from Aberdeen's right wideman Shayden Morris a few times.
We don't know Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin's instructions, nor how much Morris' attacking sprints take out of him.
However, it did seem that had the Aberdeen winger applied the same intensity defending as he did attacking, then he might have been able to win the ball back from Penrice in certain moments.
One of the occasions was Hearts' goal, but Reds skipper Graeme Shinnie also shoulders blame for vacating the space Shankland found himself in, and centre-back Mats Knoester may be disappointed he did not get his head on the ball initially.
Kabangu and Wilson were clever with their positioning, slotting in between the centre-backs and full-backs and ready to make runs into the channels.
This can make the full-backs wary of pressing too aggressively, effectively leading to two Aberdeen defenders marking one Hearts forward.
I mention all three of these tactical elements – a high press from the opposition, dangerous crosses from the opponents' left side, and a pacy front two willing to make runs in behind – for a reason.
They will all be on display from Hearts' city rivals, Hibernian, when they visit Pittodrie for a must-win Premiership meeting in the race for third place this Saturday.
When the Dons were able to get the ball into the zone which I call 'Jimmy Thelin's magic space' – behind the Hearts midfield line – they were able to cause problems. It just did not happen often enough.
The two pivotal moments for Aberdeen in the first half were the run which led to the corner for the Dons' goal, and the sending off of Hearts' Michael Steinwender.
For the goal, we saw Leighton Clarkson dropping into the defensive line, Shinnie and Jensen moving up and in, effectively creating a 3-3-4.
The ball finds Keskinen, and Aberdeen now have a 4v4.
Keskinen then got turned, ran at Adam Forrester, and went on to win the corner.
It was the same for the red card – the Dons quickly find a man in the 'magic' zone (Pape Gueye) and then release a runner (Keskinen).
This makes Aberdeen so dangerous, even in a game in which they are second-best.
In the second half, Hearts' change of shape to a 5-3-1 meant Keskinen and Morris were denied the space behind they thrive on.
What seemed to be lacking was some nuance around the box to craft an opening – not unlike last week in the second half against Rangers.
Thelin has never complained about injuries this season, however, the squad is getting stronger each week with the return of key players in goalie Dimitar Mitov and attacking midfielder Jamie McGrath.
On the evidence of Saturday, Dante Polvara also has a lot to offer, while Jeppe Okkels and, of course, winning goalscorer Oday Dabbagh also made things happen where it matters most.
Devlin's red card to reduce Hearts to nine men may well be seen as the defining moment of the game, and no doubt it did help.
But Aberdeen were making their own statement as extra-time wore on – Most of the attacks, bar the most important one, came from the left side, and the relationship between Shinnie and Okkels.
The best example was the Dane's cute through-ball for Shinnie to set up Dabbagh, which was the result of some sharp movement and combinations on the flanks.
Shinnie later set up Alexander Jensen with a great cross, and it was Okkels' shot which was saved via another fine through-ball, this time from Polvara.
For the winning goal, it was again passing and moving to find the open man, a good delivery, and an overload in the box.
It took almost 120 minutes, but Thelin finally got what he wanted from his team.