Jimmy Thelin believes last night was the ‘maybe our best performance this season’ following a 3-3 draw with St Mirren
Jimmy Thelin fully believes that the draw at home to the Buddies was their best performance of the season so far. The dons drew 3-3 at Pittodrie yesterday evening despite being 3-2 up last on, Richard King suffered a big blow to take one point back down to Paisley. St Mirren had taken the lead after 55 minutes after a lengthy VAR check in which lead to a penalty where Marcus Fraser dispatched. A very high-scoring fixture as both sides shared the points. Aberdeen have lately been praised for their defensive work but it is safe to say, their defensive work wasn’t at their best last night, conceding three to Stephen Robinson’s men however have also had issues in the scoring side which is one positive to take. Ahead of Dundee on Saturday, Jimmy said: “Of course, after a game it’s a lot of emotions and you play maybe our best performance so far this season. “You score three goals, you are one down and you come back and then 2-2, and then you score another one, and then you lose a goal in the last second of the game – of course, it’s tough. “But it’s another game on Saturday and I think the team performed really well the whole game better on what we talked about before this game – the creativity and the goals we scored, the chances we created in both halves. “Sometimes this is football. Of course, you want to win and losing a goal in the last second of the game is tough. “But the players performed really well today.” Jimmy was in full praise in the attacking side by the Paisley outfit. A very last minute goal by the Buddies sealed a point for the struggling St Mirren side which will only boost confidence. Thelin said: “To be fair to St Mirren, they did well in the situation they created in the end and take the opportunity. “Of course we can learn and do something better, how we come closer to the opponents in the last minute of the game and these kind of things. “So it was disappointing, the result – but the performance was good. You probably should have been goals up at half-time again. “We have another game on Saturday and I think the team and the players are growing. So the result today and when the goal comes, there can be a lot of emotions on that one. “But we need to stay focused that we actually did a good performance. “I know football is always about winning, but our last period now has been good in results and also now the performance was really good. “So we have to focus on the right things and recover again and take the next challenge on Saturday.” Jimmy Thelin later spoke on the referee and VAR as roughly nine minutes were added following lengthy stoppages. Jimmy said: “The referees are the referees and we focus on other things.” He added: “It’s a lot of minutes (at the end), especially when you have a lot of… I think it was 10 or 11 minutes, something. “And then you play so many games, it’s a lot of extra minutes. “But that’s the rules and we have to follow the rules and then we have to adapt and grow.” Aberdeen decided to see the game out and make defensive changes but Gavin Molloy who was only just on was soon forced off with an issue leaving Aberdeen with ten men. The dons boss stated: “Let’s see. “That’s one of the most important things now. But this just happened so we need to assess him and then maybe we’ll know tomorrow. “I hope everything is fine.”
Crystal Palace star man on a potential move to Italy
Jean-Philippe Mateta has made his feeling known as the striker is keen on making a switch to Serie-A. Mateta could be on his way out this winter as AC Milan are set to be interested in the Palace man. The FA Cup and Community Shield winner is hoping in making the French world cup team as he eyes up the move abroad to increase those chances. Mateta’s deal in London expires in 2027 but hasn’t penned a new deal with the Selhurst Park side. Mateta has a high chance of being called up to the France national side after scoring on two occasions in three. AC Milan sit at the top of the Italian division and look to add to their attacking options with Mateta being listed. Mateta’s most recent goal for Palace came just five days ago in a 2-1 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Mateta has nine so far this campaign for the London side which includes a hat-trick against AFC Bournemouth in October in a three all draw. The striker is the top goal scorer at Selhurst Park sitting on 9 with Sarr just one goal behind the forward. Mateta has featured in all games this season for Palace (22) with the French International starting 21 of those fixtures. If Mateta is to leave, they may be done with a second blow as key player, Guehi could also be set to depart with his contract set to run out this summer. The English International was heavily linked with a switch to Liverpool last window but fell through in the final few hours of the window. Just like Mateta, Guehi has also featured in every game so far, netting once providing three assists along the way. If both Mateta and Guehi are to exit, this will show to be costly and difficult to replace especially with Guehi possibly leaving on a free.
Manchester Utd 1-1 West Ham: Magassa Rescues Point for Hammers at Old Trafford
Manchester United 1-1 West Ham Dalot (58′) Magassa (83′) Soungoutou Magassa’s first West Ham goal secured his side a valuable point against a blunt Manchester United side, who themselves move to 8th in the Premier League table. The home side went closest in a drab first half. Bruno Fernandes’ half-volley skimmed the post on the half-hour mark after an ambitious Matheus Cunha effort. They eventually took the lead in the 58th minute thanks to Diogo Dalot. Casemiro’s deflected shot landed at the feet of the Portuguese fullback. He slotted past Alphonse Areola from 10 yards after being left unmarked in the West Ham box. The goal looked set to propel Rubin Amorim’s side into the top four, as they aimed to back up their away victory at Crystal Palace a few days earlier. The visitors, however, forced their way back into the game in the final ten minutes through Magassa. Jarrod Bowen’s flick from a corner was cleared off the line by Noussair Mazraoui. But the ball broke for Magassa, who rolled a composed finish past the stranded Senne Lammens. Fernandes nearly secured the victory in injury time, after latching onto Alphonse Areola’s save, he blazed over. The draw was greeted by a chorus of boos from the home faithful, who remained in 8th spot in the Premier League table. West Ham’s resurgence under Nuno Espirito Santo continues. The draw means the Hammers are unbeaten in three of their last four league matches, and could move out of the relegation zone with a victory over Brighton this weekend. Manchester United: Lammens, Mazraoui, Heaven (Yoro 46′) Shaw (Martínez 88′) Amad, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Dalot (Dorgu 68′) Mbeumo, Cunha (Ugarte 77′) Zirkzee (Mount 78′) West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Diouf, Magassa, Potts (Irving 83′) Bowen, Soucek (Kanté 83′) Mateus Fernandes, Wilson (Kilman 87′)
Rangers fans MUST be patient and BACK Danny Rohl to get it right – Scott Bradley
Danny Rohl was appointed as Rangers head coach two months ago and it’s safe to say he’s certainly walked into a complete and utter mess. The Light Blues salvaged a point in stoppage time against Dundee United last night thanks to Nedim Bajrami scoring from the penalty spot. Rohl was visibly frustrated on the touchline as he watched his side struggle in the final third and defensively yet again. The Ibrox club have had a disastrous start to the season – and the German has a MASSIVE job ahead of him. Last week, the Gers board sacked chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell – two men who were instrumental in the failed appointment of Russell Martin, who only lasted 123 days in charge. One thing that’s very commendable about the chairman Andrew Cavenagh is how he acknowledged appointing Martin was a mistake and realised that Thelwell and Stewart weren’t suited for the club. Communication from the owners of a football club is key and it’s clear Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe’s hearts are in the right place. The Glasgow giants spent close to £40 million in the summer and the recruitment has been extremely poor. The stand out flop is Youssef Chermiti who was brought in for a staggering £8 million and has only managed to find the net ONCE in 15 games. Rohl is doing the best he can with the dross at his disposal – there’s only so much he can do with these players. The 36-year-old hasn’t even had a transfer window and there’s some of the Rangers faithful already writing him off – it’s ridiculous! Rohl is no stranger to chaos and struggle as he dealt with that at Sheffield Wednesday and he worked miracles there by keeping them in the Championship. The former Germany assistant has conducted himself with nothing but class so far, and it’s clear he knows what’s required to bring the glory days back to Ibrox. This isn’t going to be a quick fix and there will certainly be a lot of incomings and outgoings next month at the club. I believe Rohl is the right man to turn things around, but he needs to time and the supporters need to give him that. Rohl has already shown that he’s adaptable and knows how to set up a team to get results but is being let down by the dross on the pitch. The next month for the Govan club is going to be tough with trips to Tynecastle and Parkhead looming and it could be game changer for Rohl is he was to bag six points in those two fixtures. The Rangers fans need to be patient and get behind their head coach and understand the shambles he’s inherited. Back him.
