Jimmy Thelin has revealed how a half-time plea for unity dragged his Aberdeen side back from the dead to secure a battling 2-2 draw against Celtic.
Trailing to first-half strikes from Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi, a run of 13 games unbeaten looked certain to come unstuck at Parkhead.
Throwing Ester Sokler and Duk on at half-time, the Swede’s bravery was rewarded by strikes for Sokler and Graeme Shinnie in the 15 minutes after the restart.
Surviving a Duk goal disallowed for handball with 20 minutes to play, Celtic roared back to lay siege to the away goal during 13 minutes of added time when the Dons rode their luck to secure a rare Parkhead point in an exhilarating, end-to-end game of football.
Asked what he said to drag his team back from the dead at the interval, Thelin replied: ‘Stay together, there wasn’t too much emotion.
Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie celebrates after his equaliser against Celtic
Manager Jimmy Thelin talks to captain Graeme Shinnie at full-time at Celtic Park
We needed to calm down a little bit and focus on our identity, what we wanted to achieve here.
It was a bit disappointing at half-time in the dressing room but we had a good talk with the players and the staff about how we can find our way back into the game.
‘It’s still early in the season so we have still a lot of things to improve and sometimes when you get under real pressure then we have to re-focus and try to find a way to start over the game in our mind.
‘We know it’s 2-0 but we have to find a way because we can’t keep doing the same as we did in the first half.
Sir Alex Ferguson was in attendance at Celtic Park to watch his old club
‘It was more a good talk with the players and then we go out with a strong feeling that we can. We have to do it step by step now and of course sometimes you can’t plan like that, but today was a good day.’
Capitalising on the absence of Cameron Carter-Vickers from the Celtic defence, Aberdeen set about capitalising on a passive start to the second half by the champions.
Sokler, a thorn in Celtic’s side in last season’s Scottish Cup sem-final, triggered the fightback with a clinical finish after 50 minutes.
Shinnie’s deflected strike 10 minutes later silenced the home support, a VAR intervention denying the Dons a third goal for Duk for handball.
‘I like the team spirit the players have,’ added Thelin, ‘how they help each other. It’s not easy to come here and have 2-0 against you and go out in the second half when Celtic has the qualities.
‘But the spirit the players showed today and these two goals they score, we score and also try to find another one in transitions at that place.
‘Then of course sometimes you need to have some luck and in the last three, four, five minutes there were some crazy moments on the pitch but also how the players sacrificed themselves, they tried everything they had.
‘They were tired but they keep believing, they’re helping each other. That’s also something you need, sometimes a little bit of luck but also the extra effort to get the points in these difficult away games. I’m proud of the players today and the fans who are here who support us all the way.’
Aberdeen fans hailed their team at time up, chanting their belief that — after 14 games unbeaten and a point at Parkhead — they’re now in a title race.
Calling for humility, Thelin refused to entertain any title talk adding: ‘It’s one game and we have to focus on game by game. And let’s see, when we talk in May, let’s see where we are.
‘We have a strong belief in what we do. Like I told you today the fighting spirit is inside the team, that’s what we have to take from this game, that we also find a way back to a way against Celtic, it’s really difficult to come back to.
‘It’s so nice to see that team spirit we have, how they support each other and when you do a mistake you come back, you don’t hide. And that’s what’s a nice thing to see in the second half today.’
