Aberdeen interim boss Peter Leven is among the candidates Barnsley are looking at to become their new head coach. (Record), external
Dante Polvara says he and his Aberdeen team-mates need to prove themselves to incoming manager Jimmy Thelin. (Press and Journal - subscription), external
Gary Scott
Fan writer
Heartbreaking.
No other word can sum up the feeling when Killian Phillips' penalty failed to find the back of the net on Saturday afternoon, consigning Aberdeen to another Hampden defeat to Celtic in a game that had it all.
Generally speaking, I’m not one who subscribes to the belief penalties are a lottery. But on this occasion, they kind of were.
With the likes of Miovski, Duk, Clarkson, Polvara & Barron all off the park, Aberdeen’s options for penalty takers were curtailed severely and credit has to go to the likes of Angus MacDonald, Jack Milne and Ryan Duncan for stepping forward to take a penalty when the pressure was well and truly on.
Duncan was especially unlucky with his penalty and he wasn’t helped by the injury to Kelle Roos that forced the Dons youngster to stand, agonisingly, waiting to take his kick. It’s difficult to fathom why Roos didn’t get himself clear of the penalty area before going down, rather than having to put his young team-mate into that situation.
Phillips’ penalty was probably the poorest of anyone’s during the shootout, but the Dons take the plaudits for contributing to a Scottish Cup semi-final that will go down in folklore and the Aberdeen support can, rightly, take pride in their team’s performance.
That said, for all of the plaudits Aberdeen’s performance has elicited, it’s Celtic who will return to Hampden in May to contest the final and the responsibility will now fall on Jimmy Thelin to take the positives from Saturday’s showing and develop a winning mentality at the club.
Before Thelin arrives, the onus sits on Peter Leven to finish off the season with some positivity - a win on Saturday over Motherwell should put niggling fears of being dragged into the relegation play-off battle to rest and allow the entire club to try and forget the campaign and put all focus on to next season.
Gary Scott can be found on the ABZ Football Podcast, external.
Image source, SNSDespite the heartbreak at Hampden, it appears Bojan Miovski still managed to conjure up a smile this weekend.
The 24-year-old took to X, external to share his pride at being named by his fellow professionals in the PFA Scotland team of the year.
He follows in team-mate Duk's footsteps after his inclusion last term.
The North Macedonia striker - who scored his 24th goal of the season for Aberdeen at Hampden - said he "can't express how much this means".
"I strongly believe if you work hard, whatever you want, it will come to you," he added.
"It's a pleasure to be chosen."
Miovski was joined in the front three by Hearts' Lawrence Shankland and Theo Bair of Motherwell. The trio boast an impressive 65 goals between them in all competitions this campaign.
Aberdeen proved their quality to incoming boss Jimmy Thelin in their Hampden loss, says interim manager Peter Leven. (Press and Journal - subscription), external
'Scales struggled with Aberdeen physicality'
Celtic centre-back Liam Scales "really struggled" with Aberdeen's physicality in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final, says former Pittodrie defender Richard Foster.
Foster also feels Scales was at fault for Aberdeen's second and third goals at Hampden.
Click here to listen to more on the Scottish Football Podcast.
Aberdeen defender Stefan Gartemann believes his side has restored pride in the shirt following the monumental effort in the Scottish Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out loss to Celtic. (Press & Journal)
Thiago Motta, one of the rising stars among managers in Europe, says injured ex-Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson "cannot be replaced" and has backed him to return better than ever. (Scottish Sun)
Read the rest of Monday's gossip.
Image source, SNSAberdeen can be proud of their Scottish Cup semi-final display despite their late heartbreak, says former Dons defender Willie Miller.
Peter Leven's side hit the front at Hampden, before twice scoring last-gasp levellers to send the game to penalties.
"What Aberdeen gave to the semi-final was immense, MIller said on Sportsound.
They looked down and out in the second half, but they found something else. Peter Leven can be more than proud even in defeat.
"Celtic obviously will be delighted to get into another final, but Aberdeen can take a huge amount out of this game, believe me."
We asked for your thoughts after Aberdeen missed out on the Scottish Cup final in the most dramatic fashion.
Here's a taste of what you had to say:
Martin: Proud of the boys. Cracking goals while two of theirs could have been avoided. Why was the penalty overturned? If Hoilett puts away his chance, who's to say what might have happened.
James: What a game! I am sure it will be talked about for a very long time to come. Both teams made it a truly fantastic spectacle. Celtic should have had the game done by half-time, but the Dandies had other ideas. I am sure that Jimmy Thelin will have seen much to encourage him. All credit to Peter Leven for getting his tactics right.
Andy: A decent performance from the players and it begs the question. Why can't they perform like this every week? One thing that was certainly highlighted is the overrating of Shinnie's contribution and importance to the side.
Richard: Absolutely loved it yesterday. I think the best Aberdeen performance I have ever seen in person in my 40 years of following the team. This was the performance and fight and character we expected going into this season, but had been sorely lacking. Peter Leven has done incredibly well and has shown up our previous managers comprehensively.
DT: I hope Jimmy was watching and he’s seen what he has to work with. I’m willing to wait and am excited to see what our new boss will bring.
Kevin: So very proud of Aberdeen Football Club today! They turned up, played with attitude and showed some respect for the team and the fans they represent.
Andrew: Great game, great performance by the Dons. Draw probably a fair result, though hurts to have had another wrong VAR call on the Hoilett penalty. Thelin’s going to expect this level of effort as a minimum, and if we do we have the quality to make the most of it. Much more like it, lads.
Paul: Very proud of the players today I thought we deserved to win. I thought the officiating was terrible and this played a part in the defeat. If we play like this we will be back in Europe next season.
Graeme: I'm disappointed with the result, but not by the performance. The team fought hard from kick-off to final whistle, and we didn't lose by a bucket load like I expected. If they can put that kind of application in for the next five games, we'll be okay.
Angus MacDonald: 'I thought we were going to win it'
Aberdeen defender Angus MacDonald expresses his disappointment after the Dons fall short in a breath-taking Scottish Cup semi-final with Celtic.
Cameron Carter-Vickers has admitted he thought he had given away an extra-time penalty when the Celtic defender caught Aberdeen winger Junior Hoilett in the box in Saturday's epic last-four encounter. (Scottish Sun)
Click here to read Sunday's Scottish football gossip in full.
Well, have you managed to gather your thoughts yet?
If you have, we'd love to hear them and your take on events at Hampden.
Image source, SNSAberdeen interim manager Peter Leven is "proud" of his players despite their semi-final defeat.
"I thought the boys gave everything,
"It's a sickener at the end - penalties are a bit of a lottery - but we went toe-to-toe at times with Celtic.
"At times, we had to suffer a bit with the low block, but after that, we showed a bit of character and made enough chances in the game to score more.
"We had two academy graduates stepping up taking penalties - I'm proud of them as well. I thought they gave everything, I've said to them that's the benchmark to end the season.
"Just gutted it ended that way. I said that to them, get your heads up - we've got to rest and recover and we're back in on Monday to go again."
Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland
Wow. What a game.
One that will be talked about for decades. An astonishing affair from start to end. And even after taking a deep breath it's difficult to know where to begin in breaking this captivating classic down.
Miovski's magnificent opener feels as long ago as last season. But if it had occurred then, would Carter-Vickers really have been caught off-guard as much? The North Macedonia forward was much missed late in the day after he hirpled off, for he had the USA international in a spin.
He's been off the boil of late, much to the understandable annoyance of the Pittodrie faithful, but again on the big stage, he stood up. His tireless running, lovely link-up play and genuine class will be tricky to replace, should he leave in the summer.
Since Clarkson arrived permanently last summer, he's failed to hit the heights known he can. But at Hampden, he had McGregor running rings around him, rather than the other way around in a sprightly showing. When played slightly further forward, his threat is severe and shine on the big stage he did.
The Dons were a thorn in Celtic's side. They did not quit. That's perhaps one of the most telling takeaways from a storied day. There was a fight and hunger in Leven's side that has not always been there throughout the campaign. Maybe if it had been, they wouldn't now only be focussing on their bottom-six games to come.
Stefan Gartenmann was a brick wall at the back for Aberdeen. He impressed in keeping the Celtic attack at bay and had a glorious chance up the other end.
Image source, SNS
