Jim Goodwin believes his Aberdeen side will bounce back from Sunday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers by producing a positive performance against Hearts this evening.
Kemar Roofe’s extra-time winner proved to be the difference at Hampden, completing the comeback for the Ibrox side who fell behind in the opening period to a Bojan Miovski strike.
Tonight’s clash at Tynecastle provides an ideal opportunity for Aberdeen to close the gap between the sides and stay in the hunt for third place.
Goodwin said: “Mentally, the boys have been very positive following the game.
“There is obviously the disappointment of not making it to the final, but I think it would have been far worse if we did not give a good account of ourselves, but that certainly wasn’t the case and we felt we could have taken it to penalties.
“There was very little between the two teams and in that respect the boys are in a good place mentally.
“Physicality is the main concern in terms of how energy-sapping the pitch was, but the boys are professionals and good athletes.
“Hopefully once the adrenaline starts pumping they will be fine.”
Two late goals from Duk and Besuijen gave the Dons a 2-0 victory in September’s reverse clash at Pittodrie, but Goodwin is expecting a different challenge this time around.
He said: “We played really well on the day and Hearts haven’t lost a great deal of games. We are one of the few teams that have been able to beat them this year.
“They came in for some unnecessary criticism earlier in the season with the way their European campaign was going, but those in the game looked at their injury list and realized that once they got their full squad together they’d be a really good side.
“We know the strengths and weaknesses of Hearts but we have to focus on what we can do to them.
“If we can play the way we did against Rangers then we’ll give ourselves a chance of getting a positive outcome.”
Hearts are unbeaten since returning from the World Cup break, with their form impressing midfielder Jonny Hayes. Despite this, he is shares his manager’s confidence that his side can collect three points and take a step towards securing European qualification next term.
Hayes said: “The expectation at Aberdeen is European football.
“You can see by the league table that there are five or six clubs who will have their eye on third position, and so it would be disrespectful to say it is between ourselves and Hearts.
“They are on a good run. They play better at home and that’s something we will prepare for, but we will go and try to win the game.”
Captain Anthony Stewart will be available for selection following his weekend dismissal for a reckless lunge on Sakala.
While undoubtedly made life difficult for Goodwin’s men, who had to face extra-time a man down, the boss has no concerns regarding the defender’s mindset going forward.
He said: “Anthony has been very honest about it and apologised. He realises it was a poor decision at the time.
“Sometimes players in the heat of battle make those types of decisions. He is a big enough and strong enough character to deal with the situation.
“He is a great leader, a top character, and has a great relationship with the rest of the squad.”
