tarapoa Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Agree with the comments that the lack of QR1 games has made life much harder to QR2, despite our seeding this time. The Hercegovina side were everything you'd expect from Balkan opposition - good on the ball, physically strong and tactically quite astute - however, they were not top drawer, and were d1ckless up front and really struggled defensively when we upped the pace for 15 minutes or so in the first half. The Rat's best games for AFC came in Europe, and his presence last night maybe would have stemmed the flow in the second half - as the other midfielders don't have the same defensive instincts - albeit domestically I think that will serve us better. Similar applies to Hayes/McGinn - for all their attacking flair, they would always put in a shift protecting the full-backs - and Considine in particular was left badly exposed last night. Season realignment is possibly required to give our clubs a better chance of surviving these early rounds - I don't think any of the three Europa clubs would go out against these sides in a September fixture, but a total minefield in the heat of June/July with no competitive domestic matches to get some air in the lungs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Center half Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 9 hours ago, Elixir said: Just shows you how much the standard has slipped in Scotland. We pumped this mob about ten years ago. You are 100% correct in your assessment there! You can not even get the chance to play against this sort of opposition now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddymcp Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 13 minutes ago, tarapoa said: Agree with the comments that the lack of QR1 games has made life much harder to QR2, despite our seeding this time. The Hercegovina side were everything you'd expect from Balkan opposition - good on the ball, physically strong and tactically quite astute - however, they were not top drawer, and were d1ckless up front and really struggled defensively when we upped the pace for 15 minutes or so in the first half. The Rat's best games for AFC came in Europe, and his presence last night maybe would have stemmed the flow in the second half - as the other midfielders don't have the same defensive instincts - albeit domestically I think that will serve us better. Similar applies to Hayes/McGinn - for all their attacking flair, they would always put in a shift protecting the full-backs - and Considine in particular was left badly exposed last night. Season realignment is possibly required to give our clubs a better chance of surviving these early rounds - I don't think any of the three Europa clubs would go out against these sides in a September fixture, but a total minefield in the heat of June/July with no competitive domestic matches to get some air in the lungs. Andy Considine is pish IMO. Will probably be exposed all season without Hayes covering him. Would be best served getting an upgrade. Reynolds also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingboots Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 It was almost as if it was the first game of the season and new signings had never played with the rest of the team before. Anyway re the Bosnian side, they're OK. No mugs clearly. Still fancy us to score a couple over there and go through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessmagic Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Stewart looked very good when he came on. Gary Mackay Steven flattered to deceive. Rooney was lost - didn't get any service of note. Christie - top notch. Not sure about Tansey - looked off the pace. Shinnie did OK. Logan played well - closed down the boy too slowly for the goal tho - seems to be a flaw in his game. As for the other three defenders - deary me - lots of work to be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Ryan Christie cigars his way through the vast majority of games. Even in a weaker ICT side than Aberdeen and Celtic had/have. He's far too good to play in Scotland IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Ryan Christie cigars his way through the vast majority of games. Even in a weaker ICT side than Aberdeen and Celtic had/have. He's far too good to play in Scotland IMO. Agree. To be honest I'm just looking forward to watching him for the next 10 months then he'll move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeedsPhil Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Potential opponents in today's ELQ3 draw, from 12 noon. Could be Rooney vs Rooney ! Group 4Seeded 1 Gent (BEL) coefficient 35.480 2 Sparta Praha (CZE) 48.135 3 Astra Giurgiu (ROU) or Zirë (AZE) 17.870 [1st leg in Roumania was 3-1] 4 Everton (ENG) 29.192 5 Marítimo (POR) 14.866 6 Apollon Limassol (CYP) or Zaria Balti (MDA) 10.710 [1st leg in Cyprus was 3-0]Unseeded 7 Irtysh Pavlodar (KAZ) or Crvena zvezda (SRB) 7.325 8 Olexandriya (UKR) 9.526 9 Altach (AUT) or Dinamo Brest (BLR) 6.570 10 Aberdeen (SCO) or Široki Brijeg (BIH) 6.785 11 Ružomberok (SVK) or Brann (NOR) 3.665 12 Beitar Jerusalem (ISR) or Botev Plovdiv (BUL) 5.875 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Jesus. The Cypriots are your best hope I'd imagine. There can't be a harder potential draw than that surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaboz Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 No Progress on that list, you got lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherchance Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 That's me just booked Cyprus, what can go wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrewDon Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Announce Sparta Prague. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussellAnderson Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 If I'm to get to any of the games, we have to make it thru this round. Mon the Cyprus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Just shows you how much the standard has slipped in Scotland. We pumped this mob about ten years ago. I always wonder about comments like this. To me it's the fact these teams have progressed, rather than us regressing. You also only managed a draw in one of the legs, winning the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Some sensational potential jollies in there for the Dandies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggy Snake Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 I thought Gary Mackay-Steven played well in the first half and offered more than anyone else, other than Christie obviously. A lot of what he tried didn’t come off, which I think is often the case even when he is fit, but it was clear Siroki didn’t know how to handle him. They looked a lot more comfortable once he’d been subbed. Aberdeen missed having a player like Ryan Jack in the second half just to settle things down when the game started to get away from them. But, if the players can find a bit more sharpness over the next week, and defend more as a unit rather than last night’s individual messy performances, there’s no reason you can’t get a result away from home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aberdeen Cowden Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 8 minutes ago, Jaggy Snake said: I thought Gary Mackay-Steven played well in the first half and offered more than anyone else, other than Christie obviously. A lot of what he tried didn’t come off, which I think is often the case even when he is fit, but it was clear Siroki didn’t know how to handle him. They looked a lot more comfortable once he’d been subbed. Aberdeen missed having a player like Ryan Jack in the second half just to settle things down when the game started to get away from them. But, if the players can find a bit more sharpness over the next week, and defend more as a unit rather than last night’s individual messy performances, there’s no reason you can’t get a result away from home. Aberdeen have a class act in Greg Stewart if they figure out how to use him properly. Just ask any Dundee fans if he's missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingboots Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 14 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said: I always wonder about comments like this. To me it's the fact these teams have progressed, rather than us regressing. You also only managed a draw in one of the legs, winning the other. Yeah got to look at these countries progressing. Bosnia were in the 2014 world cup. Scotland haven't even got close since France 98. Anyway, Aberdeen have been abysmal in quite a few of these early season qualifiers and have always improved. Fola Esch anyone? Even the Shkendija second leg (0-0 at Pittodrie) we had a few hairy moments near the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northboy Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 30 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said: I always wonder about comments like this. To me it's the fact these teams have progressed, rather than us regressing. Surely, in sport, failure to progress/develop amounts to the same as regression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Said a long time ago I saw entering at round 2 as almost a hinderance based on fitness issues. I think it has rung true we didn't look at our best.Let's just hope we took as much fitness from last night as we could and are sharper for longer next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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