THAT WAS PURE MENTAL

Misery for Martindale as Dons manage to Nick late win

- DARREN JOHNSTONE AT ALMONDVALE

JIMMY THELIN hailed Aberdeen's character after they climbed off the ropes to pinch all of the points at Livingston.

The Dons - booed off at halftime - were second best for long spells against the basement side but collected a fifth win in seven league outings thanks to a late Nicky Devlin header.

It was harsh on the Lions after a failure to make their pressure count in both halves came back to haunt them again.

The West Lothian side switched off as former skipper Devlin headed home in 10 minutes from time to send the big travelling support into raptures.

Just three days after playing in Europe, Thelin was delighted how his team tamed the Lions.

The Swede said: "In the first half, Livingston were really good, played with a lot of movement and made it really difficult.

"They did a lot of good things, did really well and created good chances.

"Dimitar (Mitov) made some good saves to help us stay in the game.

"It was important we didn't get too stressed in that moment.

"We stayed in the game and in the second half we were more stable and balanced.

"When we got our rhythm and made some subs, they had more impact on the game.

"They came with a lot of energy and that helped us take the three points. It was a difficult game. Livingston played well but with this mentality, we're building slowly and the team is coming together.

"It's not always the best game but we still won and we have to keep improving.