BK H'cken 2-0 Aberdeen (3-5 agg): Stephen Glass says side were victims of first leg success

Last update on.From section FootballStephen Glass, manager of Aberdeen, says that his team made it to the Europa Conference League after overcoming BK Hacken's second-leg defeat.The aggregate lead was 5-1 for the Scottish team. However, they lost out to the Swedish side in Gothenburg. Martin Olsson's finish with Leo Bengtsson and Leo Bengtsson scoring penalties gave them victory.Aberdeen made progress after Patrik Walemark was red carded with 20 minutes remainingGlass stated to BBC Scotland that they had nothing to lose.It was a very dangerous match. They weren't destroyed in the first leg. However, we played well against a strong team and showed their potential tonight."When it was 50-50 before our Pittodrie fans, we showed what were all about."Aberdeen's reward after beating Breidablik, the Icelandic team that stunned Austria Vienna by 3-2 aggregate is now tied with the Pittodrie guys.Glass stated that he wouldn't be rotating his squad for Sunday's Scottish Premiership opener against Dundee United, despite having a strong lead.He clearly wanted to create momentum and cohesion and he stayed true to his word and chose the same XI that tore apart the Swedes at Pittodrie.Aberdeen, like the first leg, got off to a slow start. Ross McCrorie blocked an early attempt and Tobias Heintz rattled the outside of a post.The visitors settled in to the game and had better chances in the first period. Jay Emmanuel Thomas and Christian Ramirez made it difficult for Peter Abrahamsson to make good saves.Hacken seemed dead from the power of this dominance, but Olsson's smart one-two and corner finish revived Swedish hope early in the second period. They then set about to unnerve Aberdeen.Funso Ojo could have ended any doubts about the outcome of this tie four minutes later but he failed with Ramirez’s cross with the goal gaping.Even worse was to come as substitute Nasiru Mohamed slipped a pass through Bengtsson. Joe Lewis was then tripped and he stepped up to send the goalkeeper off the wrong side.Each side was lacking cohesion defensively, and the game opened up before an Aberdeen side creaking were handed a lifeline when Walemark received a second yellow for connecting with Jack Mackenzie.It was a questionable call that slowed the momentum of the Swedish side. Aberdeen, however, were able to stabilize themselves and finish the job.Man of the Match - Nasiru MohamedMohammed arrived just before the break, and Aberdeen's centre backs were in trouble by dropping off. His pass led to the penaltyWhat have we learned?Aberdeen looks completely different from last season. They push high up the pitch together, and the full-backs join in the attack. Emmanuel-Thomas gives them a platform to play off as runners come from far.They displayed the best of all these things in Hacken on the first leg, and they did the same in Gothenburg for the second half.They were far less solid defensively this week. Players dived into tackles in their eagerness to take possession of the pitch. This allowed Hacken to play into midfield, when there wasn't enough space. McCrorie was particularly caught by long balls into channels.The attack was exacerbated by the fact that Emmanuel-Thomas had to leave early in the second period with a head injury. Glass stated that Emmanuel-Thomas' link-up play was crucial in bringing other players into this game and that he should be able to return for Sunday's league opener.Glass will be happy to have reached a difficult tie and will expect more cohesion in the future.They said it!Stephen Glass, Aberdeen manager: "I don’t think it reached the stage of nervy, but it was a little more frantic than we would like at the end."We had opportunities in the first quarter that could have killed it. What you saw was Hacken playing carefree tonight - which can be dangerous for any team.What's next?As they seek to continue European progress, the Scottish Premiership campaign will be opened at Dundee United's home on Sunday (15:00 BST).