Aberdeen came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against HJK Helsinki in the Europa Conference League at Pittodrie.
Despite creating the best chances in a cagey match, the home team fell behind just before the hour mark due to a goal from Bojan Radulovic.
However, a fine header from Bojan Miovski lifted the Dons off the ball in Group G following their opening match defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt a fortnight ago.
Aberdeen could have taken the lead in the eleventh minute when Richard Jensen found space to get on the end of Leighton Clarkson’s corner, but he could not direct his header on target from ten yards out.
As the Dons continued to press in the early stages, HJK goalkeeper Jesse Ost came to the visitors’ rescue in the 21st minute. Stefan Gartenmann tapped a precise pass onto the head of Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes, whose effort was well saved by Ost.
Having won their last three games in all competitions, the home side looked confident and Miovski headed wide from another Gartenmann center in the 27th minute.
But two lengthy stoppages due to nasty head wounds suffered by Duk and Jensen resulted in Barry Robson’s men losing some of their momentum in the build-up to half-time, with the latter temporarily leaving the field of play to allow a huge gash to appear above his eye . sewn up.
Early in the second half Jamie McGrath had a decent chance after Miovski and Clarkson came together but the Irishman, who scored the 3-1 against Rangers at Ibrox last weekend, shot wide from 12 yards.
However, the Finnish side made threats of their own and Tuomas Ollila delivered an excellent low cross across the six-yard box, which should have been picked up by a teammate.
That served as a warning for the Dons, who fell behind in the 59th minute. Pyry Soiri’s cutback from the right flank was swept into the net by Radulovic from ten meters high.
Miovski should have equalized in the 71st minute when he was picked out by substitute Connor Barron, but his volley into the ground was turned away by Ost.
But the North Macedonia international made amends in the 79th minute with an accurate header to make it 1-1. Jonny Hayes, who was effective from the bench, saw Miro Tenho’s cross come in and Miovski fired the ball brilliantly into the bottom corner.
Duk squandered a great chance to score the winner moments later when he chased a long kick forward and saw his shot saved by Ost as the teams shared the points.
Robson: We deserved to win the game
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson felt his team had missed an opportunity to beat HJK Helsinki and record their first win in the Europa Conference League.
Robson said: “I’m frustrated because we deserved to win the game.
“I’m disappointed with the goal we lost because it was their only shot on target, but that was a testament to the way we defended and applied pressure.
“The frustration comes because we had 17 shots and only scored once. We had to be a bit more clinical and if we had done that I think we could have won that game three-on-four.
“That was a good performance.
“That’s five games in a row where we have really performed and scored eleven goals, but the crowning achievement is that Helsinki scores with their one and only chance.”
What’s next?
Aberdeen returns to Scottish Premier League action at home on Sunday Saint Jansteen. Kick-off 3:00 PM.
Their next Europa Conference League match is at home POAK Salonika on October 26. Starts at 8 p.m.