FORGET last week’s referendum, Aberdeen are not for leaving Europe.
Derek McInnes had much on his mind as he watched his side struggle to penetrate an impressive Fola Esch defence.
But their effort and determination, not to mention unwillingness to accept the seemingly inevitable draw after Shay Logan’s opener was quickly followed by Julien Klein’s leveller for the visitors, were rewarded in the dying stages of this dramatic Europa League first qualifying round, first leg tie.
It was for Jeff Strasser, the Fola manager, too much of a mountain to climb as he looked at the wreckage after a total of 97 minutes play.
McGinn’s crucial goal was at first disallowed by the Danish referee Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen who overturned his original decision following a quick conversation with his assistant.
“I’m not saying it is job done”, said McInnes. “But we have put ourselves in a good position and we go to Luxembourg for the second leg with confidence.
“We had two Ash Taylor goals chalked off and I don’t know why. They were perfect goals and I don’t understand why they didn’t stand.”
But in a moment of late drama a Niall McGinn shot broke through a crowded defence, a stoppage-time goal chalked off by the referee but overturned after the briefest of discussions with his assistant, Dennis Rasmussen.
Sloppy play by Kenny McLean in the 6th minute saw him dispossessed by Mehdi Kirch deep in the Fola half and as defence turned into a attack, Stefano Bensi took his team-mate’s pass and cracked a well-placed shot off the base of Joe Lewis’s left-hand post.
The visitors had been aware of the threat of Jonny Hayes’s pace down the flanks and the physicality of Jayden Stockley, preferred as the target man ahead of Adam Rooney, their leading scorer last season.
But the hosts frequently looked less than comfortable as Fola moved forward with Tom Leterza proving a tricky opponent for left-back Graeme Shinnie.
Thomas Hym, the Fola goalkeeper, made a stunning save to frustrate Aberdeen. But he was caught off-guard and out of his goal as Hayes tried to take advantage, only to see his effort cleared off the line by Massimo Martino, before the keeper’s acrobatic stop to keep a McGinn free-kick out.
McInnes’s decision to introduce Rooney after 55 minutes – Willo Flood giving way for the Irish striker – was unsurprising as the manager wrestled with the problem of his front players failing to inflict damage.
Hym’s heroics came to a sudden end in the 68th minute as Logan, in a packed Fola penalty area, found a way past the goalkeeper to please a vociferous home support.
But they were muted two minutes later as Klein brought his presence to bear in the Dons area to fire his shot into the net against the run of play.
And then came the breath-taking final moments as McGinn and then Rooney inflicted what surely must be the fatal goals for Fola.
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