Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin sees positives in Shakhtar Donetsk defeat

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin was disappointed with the goals his side conceded but pleased by the overall performance in their 3-2 home defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Conference League.

The two sides’ domestic form could not be more different, with the Dons anchored to the foot of the Scottish Premiership with a single point and no goals, while Shakhtar top the Ukrainian league and are yet to lose a game in 90 minutes.

But it was the home side who took an unexpected lead through Jesper Karlsson’s eighth-minute penalty.

The visitors levelled before half-time through Yehor Nazaryna before racing into the lead early in the second half thanks to Lucas Ferreira and Pedro Henrique.

Nicky Devlin pulled one back for the plucky Dons, but they could not find a leveller.

Thelin said: “I think in the first half we were a bit on the back foot and I can understand why. We started well but fell deeper and deeper and it’s hard because Shakhtar is a good team.

“We are not happy how they scored the goals today, how we pressure the ball holder or the second-ball situations. We have to do better in those situations.

“When you score two goals against Shakhtar you have to be more stable in these situations.

“This will have to get better and we have to learn from this, but the positive thing is when we connect with the fans and show our desire, passion, personality on the pitch, this connection is really strong and we have to feed on this now.

“We have to always go on the pitch to show that we are fighting so the fans can see it and feel it and that’s why we had a good performance today.”

Shakhtar boss Arda Turan was less than impressed by his side’s first half performance, saying: “Despite their position in the league, Aberdeen are one of the top teams in Scotland in duels won and in physical quality.

“They started the game with their two attacking players able to control our midfield players. We had control of the ball but couldn’t find the final pass.

“We were able to adapt our wingers and full-backs to give us more control.

“It is difficult to play in such a stadium and against a team with long balls and set-pieces and we had to adapt to the wind as well.

“We’re a young team and it was important to get this win against a team with the culture and history of Aberdeen.”