Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin pleased with ‘nice win’ over Kilmarnock

Oday Dabbagh's goal settled a hard-fought contest at Pittodrie.

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin pleased with ‘nice win’ over KilmarnockSNS Group

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin was a happy man after Oday Dabbagh’s stoppage-time goal sealed a third consecutive win in a battling 1-0 William Hill Premiership victory over Kilmarnock at Pittodrie.

The Palestine international turned home from close range at the end of a game which saw VAR overturn a Kilmarnock penalty and a Dons goal in quick succession.

Kevin Nisbet struck a post with what looked like the best chance before his touch allowed Dabbagh to blast into the roof of the net and send the Dons fans home happy.

Thelin said “It was a nice win at home in front of our supporters and it’s good to get any win with more or less the last ball of the game.

“It was a stop-start game and it was hard to find a rhythm so the way we won the game was good to see. It was a difficult and tight game.

“It was good to see Oday get his goal, especially at home in front of our supporters to get that [relationship] going.

“It’s a strong competition and very tight in the table. We have high ambitions for the season but we have to celebrate small victories as well as the big ones.”

Kilmarnock’s former Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes felt his side had done enough to earn a point but admitted it was a lack of concentration that ultimately cost them.

He said: “It’s not a game where we have to go away and have a post-mortem.

“I thought our performance merited a point but at half-time said that one goal might be enough in this game.

“It was tight right throughout and there were tight calls for our penalty being overturned and Aberdeen’s goal being chopped off.

“We lost a bit of concentration and I didn’t see the offside so that was a little bit of a bonus for us.

“I never felt Aberdeen cut us open and we stood up to it until the last minute. In Scottish football you have to deal with balls in your box.

“You have to credit Aberdeen, they made changes to try to change the dynamic of the game, but I’m not going to dwell too much on it.”

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