Graeme Shinnie and his Aberdeen team-mates were full of angst as they headed for their half-time cuppa.
But with calming chats and cool calculation from boss Jimmy Thelin, their heroic fightback at Celtic Park was born. At the half-way mark at the home of the champions, it looked like the same old recent story. Brendan Rodgers’ high-flying side were two goals to the good and the writing was on the wall for the Dons.
The manner of the goals lost to Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi didn’t amuse the Aberdeen players and their mood wasn’t helped by the fact a chance went begging for Leighton Clarkson to grab a pre-interval lifeline. But, once inside, emotions were soothed and boss Jimmy Thelin got to work. The players gathered themselves while their relaxed manager expertly carved out the route back. Telling subs Duk and Ester Sokler to get stripped, re-instilling belief and reinforcing tactics.
What happened next had the away fans jubilant at full-time. Composed in thinking, aggressive in the alterations, Thelin’s acts brought instant reward. Not so long ago an Aberdeen team would have crumbled from that interval position. But this unified unit just got stronger.
Yes, they had to ride their luck at times, but getting into the position of having a point in their grasp was evidence enough that Thelin has the craft and his players the courage. Dons skipper Shinnie lifted the lid on those key interval moments as he said: “It’s a mix of everything.
“Everyone’s chatting at half-time. Everyone’s emotions are high, but we calmed it down, we spoke and we galvanised. We came out a lot better in the second half.”
It was a new situation for Thelin as Dons’ unbeaten manager, yet nothing altered in his demeanour as Shinnie added: “He’s very calm. He doesn’t let the emotion of the game take over his decisions. He tries to stay calm so he can make the right decisions, which is important.
“You can’t get caught up in the emotions of football because you can then make wrong decisions. He’s very level-headed.”
Thelin’s manner is seeping through his team. First-half, they were brave, tried to play it around Celtic. It worked sporadically, but it wasn’t convincing and Rodgers’ team twice picked them off stylishly when they got it wrong and came close on other occasions to punishing more Dons slips.
Despite that, Thelin wasn’t for changing the plan, just the personnel to implement it better. Sokler and Duk gave them even more running power in transition.
The key then was to get the execution right, which Jamie McGrath did spectacularly with a magical delivery to set the Slovenian away for the lifeline goal. It was just what Thelin planned as Shinnie said: “We wanted to go out on the front foot in the second half. We wanted to turn it around as quickly as we could. I think we needed a couple of changes just to inject that bit of urgency and pace and I thought it worked really well.”
It encouraged Thelin’s team to be even more counter-attackingly aggressive. Topi Keskinen and Shayden Morris had efforts to equalise as Aberdeen did to Celtic what they usually do to the rest.
Seizing on Daizen Maeda’s misplaced pass they committed bodies instantly to create Shinnie’s deflected strike to level it. Cue bedlam in the away end, and also some chaos within the hosts as the scorer said: “I thought we rattled them, especially when we got it back to 2-2. It was nice to get a goal in a game like that to bring us back level. Very important.”
Shinnie was bang in the celebrations again when Slobodan Rubezic’s header bounced off Duk and into the net and it wasn’t until after they had died down that VAR intervened to spot a handball. Celtic got a lift from that let-off and, in the end, it needed some heroic defending, a bit of luck, Dimitar Mitov’s brilliant save from sub Adam Idah and Duk’s goalline block in the 10th minute of added time from Alistair Johnston’s point-blank drive to get Aberdeen over the line.
Shinnie said: “If the third goal had gone in, then you’re holding on to a lead We got tired a little bit towards the end. You almost retreat a little bit, which is not easy especially against a good team like Celtic.
“So, towards the end, you start thinking ‘A point is a good result here’. When you do that, you give them opportunities. We did ride our luck at the end, but they rode their luck a little bit at times as well.
“Amazing commitment. It’s what we’re driving every day, standards-wise, putting our bodies on the line. We were good all over the pitch. Jamie working hard in his running power and his passing. I thought he was brilliant. I could go through the whole team.
“The grit and determination were there. In the last 10 minutes, the blocks and the tackles were there and that is what you need.”
VAR checked Duk’s block for handball, but Shinnie said: “He told me ‘It’s hit my chest’. I trusted him. I was more worried before it because I was thinking when they got the chance it could have gone in. But, luckily, it didn’t and we take the point.”