Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Joe Harper: Whatever line-up Barry Robson picks – Aberdeen have shown they can beat Hacken and reach Europa League groups

Read legendary Aberdeen striker Joe Harper's latest column.

BK Hacken's Mikkel Rygaard and Aberdeen's Graeme Shinnie and James McGarry during Thursday's Europa League play-off first leg match in Gothenburg. Image: SNS.
BK Hacken's Mikkel Rygaard and Aberdeen's Graeme Shinnie and James McGarry during Thursday's Europa League play-off first leg match in Gothenburg. Image: SNS.

Aberdeen have given themselves a right good chance of reaching the Europa League group stage with their thrilling play-off first leg comeback against BK Hacken.

Before they hauled themselves level at 2-2, I thought the Dons could count themselves unlucky to be 2-0 down in the game.

The Reds played well throughout the 90 minutes.

I liked how they set out to press the Swedish champions from the off, trying to force them into mistakes. It was just unfortunate how they found themselves outmanned defensively for the opening Hacken goal as a result of their positive approach.

The penalty which allowed the home side to go two goals ahead was baffling to me.

Jack MacKenzie was penalised for handball after a VAR review, despite replays (which the referee would have also watched) showing the ball – at most – brushed the defender’s arm. He had no idea where the ball even was. So what is he supposed to do?

Aberdeen players on the pitch against BK Hacken to reach the Europa league group stages
BK Hacken were awarded a penalty following a VAR check for a handball by Aberdeen’s Jack Mackenzie. Image: SNS.

If that is a spot-kick under the rules, then the rules need to be changed.

I thought the ref was generally pretty poor on the night, and was a nightmare with the inconsistency of his yellows cards despite making the right call to dismiss Hacken’s Johan Hammar for  a second yellow late on.

Aberdeen kept self-belief during BK Hacken game in an effort to reach Europa League group stages

But what delighted me at 2-0 down was Aberdeen never showed any signs of losing their self-belief. They kept doing the right things.

And what looked to be a change in shape to a back four and the introduction of debutant right-back James McGarry, another debutant in attacking midfielder Jamie McGrath and returning centre-half Angus MacDonald seemed to give them the extra boost and freshness to make something happen.

Aberdeen's Leighton Clarkson and Jamie McGrath on the pitch against BK Hacken to reach the Europa league group stages
Aberdeen’s Leighton Clarkson and Jamie McGrath in the first leg against BK Hacken. Image: SNS.

Their two goals to get themselves level were fabulous – Nicky Devlin’s dinked finish for the equaliser especially.

Chief among the other players who deserve a mention for their performance was striker Bojan Miovski, who set up Devlin’s goal with a great run and pass after netted the Reds’ first goal himself. 

Miovski led the line, held it up, used it well and just generally showed how intelligent and complete a striker he has become at Aberdeen. I cannot wait to watch him over the course of the season.

Aberdeen's Bojan Miovski celebrating with the ball in his arm
Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski celebrates after making it 2-1 against Hacken. Image: SNS.

Captain Graeme Shinnie also set the tone with his energy in the middle of the park, putting himself about all night, while keeper Kelle Roos once again showed his class, making a vital save at one point from a low Hacken header.

I am excited for the return leg next week – although the Dons can’t be complacent.

I’m interested to see, given the impact of some of the changes, which team Robson sends out in front of a packed Pittodrie on Thursday.

Will attacking Hacken have a go at Aberdeen, or sit in and try to hit them on the counter?

Whatever they do, I am confident – having seen the Swedish side in action – this Reds side have the talent to beat them.

Who will line-up for Aberdeen at St Mirren?

Barry Robson now faces a selection conundrum on Sunday when Aberdeen travel to St Mirren in the Premiership.

With the Dons facing their Europa League play-off second leg against Hacken at Pittodrie this coming Thursday, and having travelled to and from Gothenburg for the first leg a couple of days ago, there is the question of whether we could see some squad rotation for Paisley.

It should not be forgotten the Reds, as well as chasing Euro group stage success, will also be desperate to get their first victory of the league season against the Buddies, though, so it will be a balancing act.

I suspect Robson won’t change much from the team who finished the tie over in Sweden.

As I said, the likes of MacDonald – who has battled back from a knee issue – and new signings McGarry and McGrath, as well as striker Ester Sokler, proved they can make a strong impact when they came on. The first three have also proved their fitness.

Aberdeen players at the side of the pitch
Aberdeen’s Angus MacDonald replaces Shayden Morris. Image: SNS.

This game is a chance to keep the team’s momentum up, and get those players more game-time, before the squad’s attention turns to the next European game.

As far as the rest of the side is concerned, it is still early in the season, and I think most of them will be desperate to play another 90 minutes in Paisley.

The priority – and I’m sure it will be Robson’s priority, too – has to be putting a strong team out who can put the Dons on course for a maiden Premiership victory.

Once they are in that situation, then Robson can ring the changes ahead of Thursday.

Signing fourth senior striker makes sense

The additional striking option provided by Pape Habib Gueye is one Aberdeen need.

Senegalese forward Gueye, 23, was first linked to the Dons on Tuesday – with a significant six-figure fee agreed to secure his services from Belgian side K.V. Kortrijk.

Some people may be wondering, with Miovski, Duk and Sokler already on the Reds’ books as senior strikers, where Gueye fits.

However, the benefit of the signing is two-fold.

It will be a long season, with European group stage commitments and hopefully plenty of domestic cup games to go with Premiership action, and over time, with injuries and fatigue, Aberdeen boss Robson will need those options.

Gueye coming in also piles the pressure to perform on Miovski and Duk – who does not quite look like he is up to full speed yet following the magic he produced last term.

Pressure on the two main men from Sokler and Gueye behind them can only be a good thing, and could also give the club the leeway to send the likes of youth academy product Alfie Bavidge out on loan to get the game time he needs at this vital stage of his career.

Conversation