Jimmy Thelin going all out to win Scottish Cup with Aberdeen in first ever final (2025)

The Dons dumped Hearts to book a Hampden return to face St Johnstone or Celtic on May 24

Jimmy Thelin reached his first ever final as a gaffer - then insisted Aberdeen can go and lift the Scottish Cup.

The Dons boss led his team to victory over nine-man Hearts at Hampden to book a return trip on May 24.

After suffering two last-four defeats in Sweden before arriving at Pittodrie - then losing this season’s League Cup semi 6-0 to Celtic - Thelin is gearing up for his maiden final.

And the Aberdeen head coach says they’ll do everything in their power to take the trophy back to the Granite City for the first time in 25 years.

After a 2-1 extra-time win over the Jambos, courtesy of Oday Dabbagh’s late goal, Thelin said: “It’s my first cup final as a manager after having some semi-finals, so it’s nice. When we get there, we’ll try to win it.

“You can hear the supporters, players and staff afterwards - we’re so connected and we wanted this so much.

“For me, it means a lot. It doesn’t matter how you win a semi-final, you just have to win. And now that we’re there, we have to do our best to try and win it.

“As a manager or player, you don’t get many chances to arrive in a big cup final - or be challenging at the top of the league.

“So we have to enjoy it and keep fighting for it. A final is a final - you never know because it’s about more than just football on that day.

“It’s emotions, expectations, everything around it. That’s why cup games are so difficult. Look at the results this year, it’s more than just a league game.

“You have to manage the emotions but the best way to do that is to live it as many times as possible. I’ll watch the game tomorrow [St Johnstone vs Celtic], for sure.”

Thelin’s side made heavy weather of the tie after Hearts had defender Michael Steinwender sent off just before half-time. But on-loan Palestinian striker Dabbagh was the difference maker at the death.

Thelin praised his super sub, saying: “We have specific players with different abilities. Today, there were a lot of crosses and Oday is a good box player.

“Even in training, you see some of the goals he scores - he’s always there for a tap in or rebound. We know he has the qualities but we also have to deliver the balls so he can score these goals.”

Hearts were reduced to nine with a few minutes left when Cammy Devlin also saw red just before Dabbagh struck.

Thelin’s side are still fighting for third place in the Premiership but now have a Scottish Cup Final to look forward to next month.

He knows the Dons weren’t at their best but praised their mentality - after they lost a lead to 10-man Rangers in the league a week ago to draw 2-2.

Thelin said: “Hearts started well and we were under pressure. The red card helped to get more calmness in our team.

“But we know from experience that when they’re a man down, there’s less space for us to play. You can lose a counter attack or set play so you have to be really concentrated.

“Sometimes when you have an extra man and people expect you to win - you have to live games like that to learn.

“We weren’t as exposed today compared to last week and we didn’t force it. We played a bit more maturely and better as a team. We didn’t get stressed.

“We didn’t want penalties so we forced it and we’re happy. Everyone contributed a lot.

“We learned some lessons from last week (v Rangers) so we showed good patience. We kept pushing and adding fresh players.

“The subs added energy and finally we had that extra punch to win the game. So now we have to celebrate.

“It was a really big game today. When Hearts were on top, we could have broken down.

“But the character of the players was great. It’s our second semi-final of the season and we have to do this journey together.”