Jimmy Thelin savoured an “amazing” day at raucous Pittodrie as Ante Palaversa’s late winner settled an exhilarating encounter with 10-man Hearts to make it 13 consecutive victories for Aberdeen in all competitions.
The Swede’s perfect start to life as Dons boss looked in jeopardy for long periods as the bottom-of-the-table Jambos created a host of chances and briefly led 2-1 after Frankie Kent and Blair Spittal cancelled out Topi Keskinen’s early opener.
But, after Nicky Devlin levelled for Aberdeen, Jorge Grant’s red card in the 75th minute for a second bookable offence swung the game in the hosts’ favour and Palaversa struck the decisive goal in the 88th minute to seal a 3-2 win.
It kept the Reds joint top of the William Hill Premiership table with Celtic, whom they visit in their next match after the international break.
Thelin acknowledged it was far from a perfect performance from his side but the Swede was intent on simply embracing the feelgood factor around the packed stadium at full-time.
“Things didn’t go exactly how we planned, but that’s football sometimes,” said Thelin.
“We did some mistakes today but I don’t think it’s the right day to analyse that. We have to think about the atmosphere, the substitutes we made and how they made an impact in the game.
“The whole of Pittodrie was bouncing and these good feelings and the character of the team when it’s not going exactly as we planned – this hunger to try to find the winning goal, even if they were down to 10 men – I’m so happy with that today.
“You can see the fire in the eyes of the players and how they push each other and really compete, together with the fans at Pittodrie.
“I think everybody could feel the atmosphere today was something extra, and it was amazing, actually.”
Thelin introduced Duk for his first appearance of the season after he went AWOL in the summer and the striker drew the foul for Grant’s second yellow card and then set up the winning goal, earning him rapturous acclaim from a Dons support who have clearly forgiven him.
“He added some really strong qualities,” said Thelin. “He showed everybody else what we have been seeing on the training pitch. We’re so happy for him.”
Interim Hearts boss Liam Fox was devastated that his bottom-of-the-table side left with nothing to show for their efforts.
“I feel disappointed, I feel frustrated,” he said. “I thought we were good for at least a point.”
Grant was booked for dissent after Aberdeen’s second goal before his second yellow for chopping down Duk.
“The red card definitely changes the flow of the game,” said Fox. “The other thing that’s worth mentioning is that their second goal, the ball’s actually still moving from a free-kick. They go up the park and score.
“Jorge Grant is then booked for dissent because he’s complaining about the ball moving and then he gets sent off for a challenge. It’s a sore one to take.”
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