STUBBORN defences, an inspired goalkeeper, a series of late scares and a squadron of kamikaze dive-bombing seagulls were not enough to rob Aberdeen of a place in the Europa League second qualifying round last night.
But boy, they were made to work for it by a relentless Shkendija side that Derek McInnes' team will be delighted to see the back of. Carrying a slender advantage into last night courtesy of a precious away goal in the 1-1 draw in Skopje, the Scottish side suffered a series of close things at one end and scares at the other to scrape a 0-0 draw and book their place against Croatian outfit HNK Rijeka next week.
Niall McGinn, Graeme Shinnie, Jonny Hayes and Peter Pawlett would all go close for the home team at Pittodrie who looked a tad jittery while goalkeeper Danny Ward and his defence provided the barricade required to keep out sporadic threats throughout the game and a bombardment as the final seconds ticked away.
"It was a very tight match," said McInnes. "We anticipated how they would set up, defending deep and trying to counter-attack on us.
"There was a determination to work hard and get the job done and we did that tonight. We made it harder than we would have wanted but we got the job done."
It was a first half that Aberdeen took their time to settle into as their composure was lacking in the final third for much of the opening exchanges. With the Scots keen to play at a high tempo, far too often it led to crosses being over hit, particularly on the right from Shay Logan, and a host of errant passes gifting possession to the gung-ho Macedonians who needed little encouragement to flood forward for the goal that would have turned this tie on its head.
Aberdeen's build-up play often found them on the edge of the visiting box as some neat link-up work, especially between Kenny McLean and Niall McGinn, created space. But the most the hosts had to shout about early on was an Ash Taylor header that was easily gathered by Marko Jovanovski in the Shkendija goal after five minutes, while the odd shot was effectively blocked off.
At the other end, the side from Tetovo demonstrated early on why this tie was still in the balance after the first leg. Just five minutes in, Besart Ibraimi, the tricky forward who helped to swing the momentum away from Aberdeen last Thursday when he was brought on at half-time, scampered down the left flank to break clear and pick out Ferhan Hasani creeping into the box. Thankfully for the SPFL Premiership runners-up, his first time shot was skewed well wide of Ward's goal.
There was the odd flash of a counter attack as Shpetim Duro's men sought to stun the 14,112 inside the ground with a goal that would put the cat among the swooping seagulls, but gradually Aberdeen's touch became more assured and their possession play almost offered up a goal just three minutes before the break.
McGinn cut through the centre of the Shkendija defence and burst into the box to fire low at Jovanovski. He then spilled the shot and clattered into the in-rushing Adam Rooney, causing a large shout from the stands for a spot kick. Aberdeen continued to play on as appeals were waved away by Switzerland's Nikolaj Haenni as the ball was eventually worked back to Shinnie to see a sharp shot saved. McLean would also go close but his looping 30-yarder was not enough to give them a half-time lead on the night.
It didn't take long after the break for Aberdeen to pick up where they left off as Hayes was sent clear to fire a low but powerful shot at goal from an acute angle that Jovanovski did brilliantly to steer away from his net.
The hosts' resurgence was not enough to deter their persistent guests. Indeed, they almost took the lead themselves when Armend Alimi's dipping 30-yard free-kick almost caught out Ward, who somehow just managed to spill the ball in such a way that it sprung up over the head of the flying Djelil Abdula.
The game continued to rage as both sides could consider themselves unfortunate not to have taken the lead as the clock ticked down and the game descended into a scrap. First substitute Peter Pawlett's thundering long-range effort was somehow tipped on to the bar by Jovanovski, while just moments later a dubious onside call allowed Blagoja Todorovski to cut inside the box and fire two shots off that were frantically blocked.
Ibraimi would give Aberdeen one last scare as around 40 seagulls circled ominously above Ward's goal, but the on-loan Liverpool man did enough to dive low and break the hearts of the Macedonians as a relieved Aberdeen celebrated the full-time whistle just seconds later..
"Football is not always fair. We lost to Aberdeen on away goals," said Duro, the Skendija manager. "We feel we deserved to qualify in the second leg but that is the game. Although we are eliminated we are very proud of our team and what we showed."
ABERDEEN: Ward; Logan, Considine, Taylor, Shinnie; McGinn, Flood (Robson 81), Jack, McLean (Pawlett 67), Hayes (Goodwillie81); Rooney
UNUSED SUBS: Brown, Smith, Quinn, Shankland
SCORERS:
BOOKINGS:Considine, Goodwillie
SHKENDIJA: Jovanovski, Todorovski, Polozhani, Cuculi, Abdula (Kirovski 82); Juffo (Betjulai 71), Alimi, Demiri, Hasani, Junior (Vrucina 84); Ibraimi
UNUSED SUBS: Azizi Imeri, Useini, Totre
SCORERS:
BOOKINGS: Polozhani, Hasani
REFEREE: Nikolaj Haenni (SUI)
ATTENDANCE: 14112
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