Stuart Armstrong expressed the disappointment of leaving Tannadice with no points but admitted that there are positives to take.
Armstrong said: “It’s a disappointing one to come away with nothing. I thought we got off to a really good start, and their goal killed our confidence a little bit, and then we have to grind out, and I think we showed good character to get back into the game, and then there’s another disappointment to lose another goal shortly after, and then we’re an uphill battle going in at half time. Then again, I thought our character was really good; in the second half I think we dominated, up until we equalised, and there was a really good feeling about the team, and I think that’s where we need to learn and understand that when we equalise, we still need to remain and do the things that had got us back in the game in the first place. That’s the disappointing element; to score two goals away from home and to come away with nothing is hard to take, but there’s definitely a lot of positives to take as well.
On whether Aberdeen were trying too hard to find that winning goal: “Yes, at points, I think you’ve got to take risks in games like that and leave your position, and ultimately that’s what scores goals, but I think when you’re on top for so long, that also leaves you quite vulnerable, and we saw that with the disallowed goal, where we were high in the press and they come away with it. We got fortunate that was disallowed, and I think their winning goal, I think we were quite set, which is also disappointing that we’ve conceded, so a lot of good stuff, but it’s just turning that into points.
On the effect the virus had: “It’s tough; I don’t want to use it as an excuse, even from yesterday’s training into today. Numbers are missing, so that’s not easy, but that’s part of football. I don’t want to take that away from a good performance today, albeit one without points.
On whether that was Aberdeen’s best ninety-minute performance this season: “There’s been a bit of a narrative that first half’s cr*p and second half gets better, and I think that’s not the case today. I think throughout the game, for large parts, we were very good, just those momentum shifts, and I think in previous times, conceding goals, we struggled to get back into games, but not today. I think we showed great character to come back twice away from home; it’s just a shame, there are a couple of learning things in there that we need to get a little bit better at.
On bouncing back: “I guess that’s the fortunate thing; we have got a game so soon to bounce back and take those positives from tonight into Wednesday.
Aberdeen face Falkirk on Wednesday, before playing Rangers at Hampden on Saturday, and Armstrong admitted that he’s surprised that Aberdeen have a midweek fixture ahead of the semi-final on the weekend.
He stated: “I mean, it is a big week. I’m surprised we’ve got a midweek game before the semi-final, but that’s what it is, but it’s a chance to take all the good stuff from tonight, which there was, and just iron out a few things that we can do. I think we can defend better as a team first and foremost and try and rectify that on Wednesday to make sure we go into the weekend in good form and in a good, solid frame.
On coming together through adversity: “We showed that in glimpses tonight. I don’t want to be too dramatic about adversity, but when you go behind, it is tough, and to come back twice is something that we’ve not been doing of late, so I think that was a really positive step; we dominated the game and had chances, just being a little bit better in both boxes.
On having a midweek fixture before the semi-final: “It is what it is; it’s a bit surprising, but it’s just the fixture list.”
