Defender Richard Jensen insists 10-man Aberdeen’s dramatic Viaplay Cup semi-final win offers proof of the squad’s character.
The Dons took a step closer to winning a first trophy since 2014 by seeing off Hibs 1-0 at Hampden to book a December 17 final slot.
Aberdeen suffered a hammer blow when Jack MacKenzie was dismissed for a second yellow card in the 75th minute.
A man down, the Dons hit back against the odds via a Bojan Miovski winner just three minutes after MacKenzie’s exit.
Boss Barry Robson rebuilt the squad with Jensen one of 13 new signings secured during the summer transfer window.
Finnish international Jensen reckon the dramatic Hampden win shows the team spirit and fight of the new-look Dons.
The 27-year-old was beaming with pride as the Dons kept alive the bid to win silverware for the first time since the League Cup in 2014.
Jensen insists that is far too long for a club of Aberdeen’s standing to be without trophy glory.
And he aims to end that wait for silverware at Hampden next month.
Jensen said: “I’m so proud of the club and the whole team for getting to a final.
“It is absolutely magnificent, it means so much.
“It was a very tough game but we showed great character to pull through.
“We have a great chance of winning the final and just have to make sure we do that.
“Collectively we showed great mental strength in a busy period with a lot of games.
“We can’t be anything but extremely happy and proud.”
Time to end Dons’ trophy drought
Aberdeen have only lifted silverware twice in the last 28 years – the League Cup in 1995 and again in 2014.
Jensen joined Aberdeen from Polish side Gornik Zabrze for an undisclosed fee, understood to be £400,000, in the search for trophies.
Having signed on at Pittodrie on a three-year contract he hopes to win silverware in his debut Dons season.
And he has reassured supporters Aberdeen “will do all we can” to make that trophy dream a reality.
He said: “Hopefully we can get some silverware and now is the time.
“We will do everything we can to make that happen.
“It is about the team.
“We are in this together and everyone has to do their part.
“So far we have been able to do that.
“It is a big step to be able to win the final and a long way to go.
“But winning the semi-final was a very important step towards that.”
Silencing critics with cup final slot
Aberdeen and boss Robson were heavily criticised last week for blowing a two goal lead to lose 3-2 to PAOK before losing 2-0 at Kilmarnock.
However they have turned that form around and now have a cup final on the horizon.
On the recent criticism, Jensen said: “That’s how it goes.
“Football is a weird dynamic.
“Last week wasn’t the best but we had the chance to correct it this week and I think we did that.
“We can be happy about that but now we have to keep on going.”
Jensen’s joy at securing first final
Centre-back Jensen hit a career landmark at Hampden by reaching his first ever cup final.
Previously the furthest he progressed was the semi-final of the KNVB Cup with FC Twente in the Netherlands in 2017.
However they lost that semi 4-0 to AZ Alkmaar.
Miovski’s winning goal put the 13,000 travelling support at Hampden into dreamland.
Jensen insists it was also a “nice” bus journey back to the Granite City for the Dons.
He said: “This will be my first final, I haven’t played in one before.
“I was in the semi final of the Dutch cup but didn’t manage to get into the final.
“It was a nice bus ride home.
“We will enjoy the feeling but Thursday (away to PAOK, Europa Conference League Group G) is another big game.
“Now we need to focus on that.”
MacKenzie ‘will learn’ from dismissal
Aberdeen suffered a major setback when reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of MacKenzie with 15 minutes remaining.
Wing-back MacKenzie, who had already been booked, took exception to a nudge from Lewis Miller and pushed him to the ground.
MacKenzie will be suspended for the final for that moment of madness.
Jensen is confident the 23-year-old will learn from that mistake.
He said: “Jack is a bright kid.
“He will learn from this.
“I haven’t seen the situation yet but if he did something wrong he knows he did it himself.
“I have made mistakes in my career, big mistakes as well, and you need to learn from that if you want to take the next step.
“When we were down a man we managed to create a lot of dangerous chances.
“That showed a lot of spirit.”
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