Kelle Roos has backed Aberdeen team-mate Jack MacKenzie to learn from his red card in the League Cup.
The Dons left back was sent off for a second bookable offence in the Viaplay Cup semi-final win against Hibernian at Hampden after pushing Hibs’ Lewis Miller off the ball.
Despite MacKenzie’s dismissal the Dons went on to score the only goal of the game thanks to Bojan Miovski’s late winner.
MacKenzie’s loss of composure did not cost his side in the end but Roos believes his team-mate will learn from his mistake.
The Dons goalkeeper said: “It’s one of those. Let’s be very clear. I just spoke to Jack.
“Jack’s strength is his aggression, his passion, and he had a little blip.
“It’s going to hurt him to miss the final, we’re obviously going to miss him. But it’s a great way for him to learn to control it.
“Let’s not get it twisted, he is a brilliant defender who plays with his heart on his sleeve.
“He digs a lot of people out of trouble a lot of the time. Here it wasn’t to be for him.”
VAR goes in the Dons’ favour
Martin Boyle thought he'd given Hibs the lead, but it was ruled out after a lengthy VAR review ❌#ViaplayCup pic.twitter.com/v7NiBMkPgy
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) November 4, 2023
Hibernian boss Nick Montgomery was disappointed Martin Boyle’s goal was chalked off for offside following a lengthy VAR review when the game was goalless.
Roos knows the time taken to reach the decision shows how fine a line it was.
He said: “I think he did brilliantly to take it out of the air, it really stuck to his foot.
“I was hoping he might maybe take a bad touch and I could be right in his face.
“He didn’t and he took it well, to be fair.
“We spoke at half-time about our back line being higher up the pitch and being aggressive so we could get more pressure on the ball.
“And I thought it was a good one for us to see, via VAR, that even if it might not look offside, if you have a good back line that is solid and strong and brave, then sometimes you get this.
“I think we have all seen it before, the longer it takes the more chance you know they are really having to look at something.
“The reality was I didn’t have any idea if it was or it wasn’t.
“But this is what you get if you have a really good, solid back line that is very disciplined. You get the reward.”
‘Vente tried to do me in’
Roos was also involved in a penalty incident when Hibs Dylan Vente went down in the box under a challenge from the Aberdeen goalkeeper.
Montgomery again felt it was decision which went against his side but Roos protested his innocence.
He said: “I think I should have just tackled the ball because it was hard to keep it in play.
“But at the same time I was never near his feet, he just tried to buy one.
“He got the ball but at the same time I didn’t get any of him,
“He’s Dutch, so I said to him: ‘You’ve tried to do me in’. He knew it.”
A happy Hampden return for the Aberdeen goalkeeper
For Roos, the 2023-24 Viaplay Cup semi-final was one of ecstasy following the agony of the extra-time loss to Rangers last season.
Roos also suffered a hamstring injury which kept him out for eight games so the emotion of reaching a final made for a very pleasing change on Saturday.
He said: “It was very different. Last year I stood here and I knew I was in big trouble with my leg.
“I kicked the ball in the 60th minute and I knew it was bad.
“I tried to stay on and I kicked it again later on and made the halfway line, I still don’t know how.
“So this was a completely different day, starting with the pitch. The pitch was amazing today, last time was not.”
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