Aberdeen

Glen Schreuder
Fan writer

It may have taken 14 winless league games, but Aberdeen have finally gotten there.

A 2-1 victory over Dundee has ended the wait for victory.

Topi Keskinen slammed in a goal of the season contender, and Kevin Nisbet looked in the mood for more.

Are things finally clicking into gear once again for Jimmy Thelin's charges? The manager stuck with the team who secured victory over Dunfermline and they repaid the faith shown in them.

I spoke last week about how I wanted this team to show they meant business.

On Saturday, they certainly showed they did and results elsewhere saw us leap back into third place. Impressive given how long we have waited for a win! More importantly, it means the race for third is back in our own hands.

The centre-back pairing of Kristers Tobers and Mats Knoester looks to be what we have longed for - steady, assured, and blocking everything a team throws at them.

Ante Palaversa and Sivert Heltne Nilsen have started three games in midfield together in 2025, and we've won them all! Coincidence?...

Up top, Nisbet looks a different player. Perhaps he's been aided by the competition brought in by Oday Dabbagh, who himself looked sharp off the bench against Dundee.

With a positive result alongside a fairly positive performance, the Red Army have lots to smile about this week.

Let's hope we make it a hat-trick of victories this weekend over Kilmarnock.

Glen Schreuder can be found at Red Tinted Glasses, external

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin believes Scotland forward Kevin Nisbet is getting "sharper and sharper". (Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

The Sportscene panel discuss the potential shirt pull on Antonio Portales in the build up to Aberdeen's opening goal against Dundee on Saturday.

Scotland forward Kevin Nisbet, 27, is ready to show his best at Aberdeen after netting goals in successive games in the Dons' return to winning ways. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

Sportscene's Steven Thompson, Neil McCann and James McFadden review Topi Keskinen's impressive strike for Aberdeen against Dundee (UK only).

Aberdeen beat Dundee 2-1 at Dens Park to end their 14-game winless run in the Premiership. (UK users only)

Aberdeen fans, we asked for your views on the victory over Dundee which ended the Dons' 14-game Premiership winless streak.

Here's what some of you said:

Richard: While we can appreciate a couple of wins on the bounce, I remain unconvinced we are ready for tough opposition. Great performances by Ante Palaversa, Topi Keskinen and some of the new recruits but I fear that the level of opposition in the past two games is creating something of a false dawn. The rate of improvement is good, but needs to continue.

John: Good win. The players who came in the January window look a lot better than the ones they replaced. Dundee were the better team but we will take three points and move on. Jimmy Thelin can't play the two old men in midfield together, the legs have gone and why doesn't Shayden Morris get a start? Onwards and upwards.

Eric: A dogged, determined display by the team, however we won't survive that kind of onslaught on a weekly basis. You can't defend in your 18-yard box alone and the midfield need to cut off these opportunities long before they arrive. Good to see goals from the strikers, though not sure on the combination up front. A great confidence booster overall.

John: Well a win was certainly needed and the team dug in to get a result which takes a bit of pressure of the management team and the players. We still looked disorganised defensively and pretty messy at times.

John: Feels like the beginning of a new era. Duk, Slobodan Rubezic, Graeme Shinnie and Leighton Clarkson being quietly discarded while Jimmy Thelin stamps his authority on the club with signings that fit his style of play. Third in the league with a third of the season still to play. Crisis, what crisis?

John: At last a glimmer of hope. Mats Knoester did well and Richard Jensen is looking very promising, might be worth swapping him with Sivert Nilsen in the centre. Several good balls into space where a striker should have been, but wasn't. Would have liked to see Oday Dabbagh replace Kevin Nisbet for the last 20 minutes. More determination and effort was a positive.

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• Dundee attempted 22 shots in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• Josh Mulligan has assisted five goals in the Premiership this season, more than any other Dundee player.

• Dundee have conceded 24 first-half goals in 26 games, no team has conceded more in the Premiership this season.

• Kevin Nisbet and Topi Keskinen scored their fifth goals of the Premiership this season, no Aberdeen player has more.

• Aberdeen have a record of W10, D1, L1 when scoring the opening goal in the Premiership this season.

• Aberdeen are unbeaten in their past eight Premiership matches when leading at half-time (W7, D1) dating back to 2 March 2024 against St Mirren (L 2-1).

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Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin was pleased for the huge travelling support as his team ended a 14-game winless run in the Scottish Premiership by sinking Dundee.

"I can see the faces of the players, the happy faces of the fans who supported us in struggling times and good times," Thelin told BBC Scotland.

"We put a smile on their faces with how the team competed and helped each other on the pitch. We had some difficult situations but the players defended together and sacrificed themselves.

"It's important for us to refocus now on the next game but take some good points from this game and the cup game. We are playing better together."

Aberdeen fans, how are you feeling after your team ended a 15-game wait for league victory?

Give us your thoughts on Saturday's win over Dundee using this link., external

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Topi Keskinen's stunning goal will attract the social media clicks - and rightly so - but Ante Palaversa was a dominant presence for Aberdeen during their long-awaited win.

The midfielder put in several teasing deliveries and provided touches of class in a chaotic central chunk of the pitch.

Jeppe Okkels' caught the eye, while Kristers Tobers looks an influential addition to Jimmy Thelin's defence.

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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How Aberdeen must wish they could play Dundee every week. Three victories over them this season alone – and only two defeats in their past 31 league encounters.

After taking just four of his past available 42 points, manager Jimmy Thelin really needed all three here to kickstart the club's faltering Premiership campaign. Job done in that sense.

Recent signings Mats Knoester, Aexander Jensen and Tobers have added a much-needed solidity to the Dons defence. At the other end of the park, Jeppe Okkels looks dangerous off the wing and Nisbet combined well with Pape Gueye up top.

If Keskinen can keep producing quality such as his long-range strike, he'll take some shifting from the starting line-up.

This feels like a very big win for Aberdeen. They're back up into third place. Can they stay there?

Slobodan Rubezic admits "many people find my decision strange" to re-join Novi Pazar on loan, but the 24-year-old centre-half says he does not want to talk publicly about the personal issues that led to his surprise departure from Aberdeen. (National)

Novi Pazar do not have the option to buy Rubezic, who has been dealing with matters outside of football, at the end of the defender's loan from Aberdeen this summer. (Record), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

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Dundee forward Seb Palmer-Houlden returns while Billy Koumetio (ankle) and Scott Fraser (groin) remain out.

Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov is back in the squad after injury.

Jamie McGrath, Gavin Molloy (both shoulder), Ester Sokler (hamstring), Dante Polvara (leg), Vicente Besuijen (knee) and Jack Milne (ankle) remain out.

Jimmy Thelin has welcomed the return from injury of goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov for Saturday's game at Dundee as Aberdeen attempt to end a club record 14-game winless run in the league.

The 28-year-old has missed the past eight games after a shortlived comeback from a hamstring problem.

"Mitov will be inside the squad tomorrow," manager Thelin said.

"That's a slide in the right direction. We have three good goalkeepers, it was a good start to the season and having competition in the squad is good.

"Ester [Sokler], Jack Milne and Dante Polvara are training more and more on the pitch but it's still some weeks until they are available for the squad."

Thelin has told his players they must "do everything" to reward the support of fans after being "amazed" by demand for tickets for the trip to Dens Park.

The 2,900 away allocation is sold out and Thelin said: "It's amazing. Everybody know this is a big club. For me to live here and feel it, the history is one thing, a good thing.

"You can also build a strong future, depending on history and the passion around people who work for the club and also people outside the club.

"It's really connected and that's why you have to be proud and take responsibility when you belong to this club and community, to do everything you can.

"That's what we talked about after the Hibs game. We have to do everything we can to support this and be our best every day because the support we have is amazing."

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Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premiership game at Dundee.

Here are the main points:

• Goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov is available to return after an eight-game injury absence. Ester Sokler, Jack Milne and Dante Polvara are still some weeks away.

• On Slobodan Rubezic's loan exit, Thelin says it will be "good" for the defender to get more game time and "be closer to home for personal reasons" but insists he is "still an Aberdeen player".

• The Dons boss is pleased with the level he's seeing in training and insists the new signings make the squad stronger but knows they will need time to settle in.

• On facing Dundee amid a 14-game winless league run, Thelin says "every game is a new opportunity for everyone" and stresses his team are ready to "show our best side" and "put a challenging time behind us".

• Thelin is full of praise for the supporters who are expected to travel to Dens Park in their numbers and says his team have to "be proud and take responsibility" for the fans.

• The Aberdeen manager says his side are "ready" for an exciting Scottish Cup game at home to Rangers conquerors Queen's Park.

Chris Bertram
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Every new Aberdeen manager walks in the daunting shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson when they arrive at Pittodrie.

It usually takes no more than a game or two for fans and the outside world to conclude the new man is not going to be the second coming of 'Fergie'.

Then Jimmy Thelin pitched up. The Dons had chased the Swede for a long time before landing him and it soon became clear why they had been so patient. Ten wins from their first 11 Premiership games and a dramatic point at Celtic led to talk of a title challenge.

But if Thelin's stock rose rapidly, it has dropped even more quickly. Aberdeen have lost eight and drawn one of their past nine league games - as many defeats as in their previous 37 games.

They have gone from putting pressure on Celtic in second to fourth - just five points off slipping to eighth. Thelin, incredibly, is under pressure for his job within two months of being touted as Fergie 2.0.

His tactics and style of play have been criticised, with suggestions other teams have now worked him out.

The good news for him is the Dons next play Dundee, the leakiest side in the division and smarting from 6-0 thrashings in their past two league games.

Dundee have won just two of their past 30 league meetings with Aberdeen and Saturday's visitors have two wins out of two against the Dark Blues this season.

Aberdeen stopped the rot with a cup win last weekend but Thelin is expected to win this game. He will know that if he doesn't, he then faces exacting matches against ex-Dons boss Derek McInnes, Celtic and third-placed Dundee United.

Read all this weekend's Premiership picks

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin says he had no problem with Duk but believes it was time for the striker to move on from Pittodrie. (Press & Journal), external

Read the rest of Friday's gossip.

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Slobodan Rubezic has rejoined Serbian SuperLiga club Novi Pazar on loan until the end of the season.

The Montenegro defender signed for Aberdeen from Plavi in August 2023, and made 57 appearances for the Dons, scoring one goal.

The 24-year-old's last run out for the Pittodrie club came in the 3-0 defeat to St Mirren, where he was substituted after 40 minutes.

"Slobodan's professionalism and application since our arrival has been exemplary, however, he now believes it is the right time for him to return to Serbia in search of regular game time," said manager Jimmy Thelin.