Europa League: Derek McInnes remains confident Aberdeen can progress despite draw

ABERDEEN boss Derek McInnes remains positive his side can progress to the third round of Europa League qualifying after watching his side draw 1-1 with Bosnian side Siroki Brijeg.

Ryan Christie curled in a strike in the 18th minute but the visitors levelled through Stipo Markovic’s angled 20-yard shot midway through the second half.

Despite that setback McInnes remains confident his side can progress in the competition.

He said: “We’re disappointed that we’ve not managed to get a win tonight. It’s clear they’re a decent side and they thoroughly deserved the draw.

“I thought we had the better chances in the early part of the game, and missed a couple of chances. But there’s no doubting that tactically they were very good.

“They filled the central areas and we needed to play in the wider areas a wee bit more.

“Normally we go into the first round and although it can be challenging we’ve got through it and used it as part of the preparation to play at this level. It’s clear tonight that we’ve still got a bit to go.

“We’ll go there confident we can bring a better performance, but it was clear that some of the players tonight weren’t where they need to be. We’ll aim to get a better result next week.”

Gary Mackay-Steven was thrown straight into the team having signed for the Dons just a day prior to the game, and McInnes remains confident of adding to his squad.

“We’ve had enquires in for several players, but we’ll concentrate on what we need to do at the moment. We’re confident we can get a defender in over the next few days, but we have to go with what we’ve got for next week’s game.”