The Dons Debrief: Queen's Park (H)
Seven Questions from the Game
Things keep getting better for Aberdeen FC after Saturday’s dramatic win over Queen’s Park. Isn’t it nice to keep your head when all about you are losing theirs?
Seven is the number of wins Jimmy now has on the board, so here’s seven questions (and answers) to ponder from the weekend.
Was this a lucky win?
In short, no. Yes it took 92 minutes for the winner to arrive, and yes, Queen’s Park had the best chance of the match, but, overall, on another day, this could have been a very comfortable win for the Dons.
Devlin and MacKenzie both had excellent chances early on, before a superb stop by Ferrie denied Gueye. In the second period Sokler had a goal incorrectly disallowed before the two full backs again found themselves in on goal and again could not find the net. If any of these legitimate chances had been converted we would probably have been writing about a 2-3 goal victory,
Separating performances from results is never easy, and this has to be caveated with the fact Queen’s Park finished 8th in the Championship last year. Overall, however this was a strong performance and will have been a valuable exercise for Thelin and the coaching staff.
Did we notice anything from different from the team?
Following on from the above, there was more focus from Aberdeen on their build-up play, a topic Thelin mentioned in his press conference on Friday. Queen’s Park were much more willing to let Aberdeen have the ball in their own half and let the Dons try and break them down. We saw some good examples of how they may build-up play in the future.
Sivert Heltne-Nilsen mentioned the differences in approach in his interview on the club’s website:
“It was a different game from what we’ve been used to this season. It’s been a little bit more open before this. They went a little bit faster in the low block. I actually enjoyed it. It was a little bit easier to control it from a midfield position. Instead of it being counter-attack, counter-attack.”
The main element of the build-up, I wanted to highlight was Shinnie dropping into a ‘false full-back’ position and McGrath playing as the second #10. This passage of play showcases both.
Shinnie, interstingly, moved to the right back slot, not the left back (allowing him the ability to see open the game up on his stronger foot). This was never replicated by Nilsen on the left who played as a more traditional #6 at the top of the triangle with the centre backs. This would correlate with what appears to be an asymmetrical element to the Thelin setup.
As you can see from the image above McGrath is tucked inside and operating like a #10 and MacKenzie is providing the width. The play then developed with Milne, finding Devlin who laid it off to Shinnie.
In the first instance the Dons have created an overload on one side of the pitch, which has drawn over the presence of a number of opponents and left the highlighted McGrath in acres of space. This was a hallmark of Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic who caused the Dons a number of problems with their overloads on the flanks.
I would question Sokler’s positioning as he seems to take away the passing lane to Morris but there is the possibility that he could be used to bump the ball into Nilsen to then switch the play.
Eventually, the ball works it’s way to McGrath who can run at the back four with the aid of a rampaging MacKenize powering up the left flank. Some better movement and Gueye could have found himself clean through.
What is happening with our full-backs?
Yes indeed. As we’ve seen throughout the season, Jack MacKenzie has been given a new lease of life in an attacking sense and had three great sights at goal in this game alone. What was just as encouraging was the contribution from Nicky Devlin on the opposite flank and he certainly could have added to his two goals for the season.
How are finding themselves in such good positions?
As noted above, on the left-side McGrath is coming inside a lot, opening the space for MacKenzie to make his charging runs on the overlap. Often though those initial runs, if the ball is moved quickly, result in crossing not shooting opportunities. It does not appear that Morris is being asked to perform a similar role to the Irishman on the other wing.
What both Devlin and MacKenzie are being encouraged to do is to stay forward and invert their positioning when the initial breakaway gets slowed down or the quick pass is not made. Watch Jack’s movement’s below for his chance in the second half.
Molloy finds Besuijen in the pocket and MacKenzie makes a run out wide
Besuijen retains ball and dribbles out wide, MacKenzie stays high and moves inside
Besuijen finds McGrath, who slips in MacKenzie who’s now through on goal
Devlin’s chance a few minutes later came from a similar scenario. For much of last season both Devlin and MacKenzie were operating in a back five in a system that had no real width high up the pitch. Both seem to be reveling in the freedom being provided to them. We could do with them putting in some extra shifts at shooting practice however.
Are we witnessing the early-stages of the Vinnie Besuijen redemption arc?
A man who seems to have taken on a mythical status within some elements of the Aberdeen support but who has been written off by just as many. Personally, I’m in the latter camp, but Saturday’s display, did provide some hope that he could play a role this season.
The Dutchman did enjoy success in the second tier in his loan spell at Emmen last season, and so perhaps he was at home against a Championship team in Scotland. What is clear is that he ranks significantly higher than a lot of his teammates on the basic footballing skills of controlling and passing. Every time the ball went towards the wee Dutchman, there was never any question that it would not stick. The same could not be said for Gueye, Morris, Sokler and Ambrose.
Aside from this, he is a good runner with the ball and can see a pass. The drawbacks remain that he seems to hang on to the ball just that little bit too long to execute that pass at the pace of attack Aberdeen are trying to play at. This was also a perfect game for him as he was asked to do little defending and pressing and it remains to be seen whether he can meet the demands of Thelinball out of possession.
In short, unless a good deal is on the table, I would be happy to see Besuijen remain part of the squad. At this stage, his role is likely to be that of an impact sub and I’d be keener to see his number go up than a few of the others mentioned?
How was Jack Milne’s Performance?
Milne slotted in at right centre back due to Rubezic’s suspension. Thelin noted in his pre-match interview that he was preferred to Richard Jensen as he wanted the balance of a right foot-left foot defensive partnership. It was a positive to see Jimmy give the youngster the chance, in what we’ve been told, is his designated position.
For the most part he did well. He recovered from his lapse in concentration that presented the chance to Rudden on 16 minutes, making the goal-saving stop himself. He almost had an assist with his cross for Gueye and technically he was comfortable on the ball, albeit under limited pressure. Defensively he competed well in the air against a seasoned SPFL pro and was rarely caught out of possession.
All in all, just like his previous appearances, Jack Milne let no one down and deserves to be an important part of our squad for the season ahead.
Can we talk about Topi Keskinen?
Absolutely. Carlsberg, or should we say (googles Finnish beers), Olvi Tuplapukkidi don’t do debuts but if they did, they’d probably look a lot like Saturday.
This could well come back to haunt me, but you just get a feeling about players right from the off and even though it was just a goal, it featured a number of elements that suggest Keskinen is going to be a big asset.
Firstly, there’s the awareness of his surroundings. Secondly, there’s the confidence and willingness to turn. To make something happen in the box. Thirdly, there is the speed of it all. To take advantage of the small opening he had created. Finally the two-footedness (is that a word?) He turns with his right, lashes home emphatically with his left.
In addition to the goal, there were a few examples of his direct running both with and without the ball. There were a couple of occasions where he got caught in a crowd of bodies, but that just shows his desire to beat a man.
It will be interesting to see where he is utilised moving forward. Most feedback seemed to suggest his best position is off the left, but we’ve already noted how well McGrath is playing in there, and it seems like he’s fairly two footed, so replacing Morris on the right, like he did on Saturday, would not seem out of the question.
When will this honeymoon end?
Never.
Unfortunately, it will at some point. Seven wins out of seven is impressive but only two have come against Premiership opponents. This weekend we can expect a Kilmarnock team, fresh (or not) off their European adventure, to make things as difficult as possible and the onus will again be on the Dons to break them down.
There will be no shortage of motivation for Derek McInnes who would surely love to burst Jimmy’s bubble and we can expect plenty of mind games ahead of the match in regards to the challenges a ‘small club like Kilmarnock’ are facing due to their fixture pile-up.
Still, the Dons look good. Keep the faith and let’s just enjoy it all while it lasts.