Robinson upbeat despite Aberdeen defeat and Olusanya’s glaring miss v Twente

Stephen Robinson insisted there was plenty to be encouraged by despite Aberdeen slipping to a 1-0 pre-season defeat to FC Twente, even after striker Toyosi Olusanya spurned a glaring chance from inside the six-yard box.

The Dons travelled to Goor in the Netherlands to take on Eredivisie opposition in front of around 1,000 spectators, roughly 100 of whom had made the trip from the north-east of Scotland.

Lucas Venegoor of Hesselink, son of former Celtic forward Jan, scored the only goal of the contest, but Robinson was satisfied with how his side matched a higher level of opposition throughout the friendly.

New faces impress despite the scoreline

Robinson’s starting line-up featured several summer arrivals, with new centre-back pairing Dan Happe and Alexander Briedl forming the heart of the Aberdeen defence. Both were among the standout performers, alongside midfielder Connor Ronan, before a wave of second-half substitutions from both clubs disrupted the flow of the match.

The Aberdeen boss felt his side might even have been awarded a penalty when substitute Olusanya went down in the box during the second half. However, the striker’s biggest moment of the match came moments later when he robbed Twente goalkeeper Yannick Gerritsen of possession, only to blaze the ball high over the crossbar from close range with the goal gaping.

Speaking after the match, Robinson said: “It was certainly a test against a top level side. We wanted to be tested, you want to find out what you need to fix and see the fitness levels of the boys.”

He added: “It was a good performance. Really solid and organised. We pressed well at times, we should have scored two or three goals and possibly had a penalty as well, I’ve been told. Now it’s about resting and recuperating and going back fresh – but it’s certainly been a very good week.”

Praise for Ronan and the back four

Robinson singled out several individuals for particular praise, highlighting the contribution of Connor Ronan in the middle of the park as well as the performance of his new-look defence.

“I thought Connor was excellent. The two boys at centre-back were great as well, so were the whole back four in the first half,” he said. “Some of the out-of-possession stuff was really, really good. We need to learn that when you’re defending for so long against a team at that level, you need to keep the ball better.”

The Aberdeen manager was keen to stress that results are not the priority during this stage of pre-season preparations. “We can play the easy games and win 3-0 or 4-0, but that’s not what we want. We want to push people. There was a lot of good stuff to come out of today,” he said.

More signings expected before the season begins

Robinson fielded seven of his summer signings during the defeat in Goor as he continues to reshape his Aberdeen squad ahead of the new campaign. He made clear, however, that his recruitment work is far from finished.

“You can see the team bonding together now. You can see that with the new boys coming in and being welcomed,” he told Red TV. “I still think there’s two or three positions that we need to finish off the squad. Everyone’s aware of that. We’ll continue to look to improve.”

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