Jonny Hayes convinced Aberdeen can finish the job against Maribor
Aberdeen winger Jonny Hayes insists they did not need their dominant first-leg display against Maribor to convince them they could overcome the Slovenians.
The Dons created more than a dozen decent chances in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round but needed Hayes' late goal to seal a 1-1 draw.
However, manager Derek McInnes felt his side had rattled'' their opponents, who have beaten Hibernian, Rangers and Celtic in European competition in the past six years.
When asked if they had given themselves confidence they could win the tie, Hayes said: We have always known that. The manager and staff do their homework.
We were confident going into it and you saw that straight from the off. We went and attacked, we went with two strikers and an attacking line-up. It almost paid off.
Conceding the away goal will give them a boost but we can take confidence from that performance. When we play at a high tempo we are a match for anybody.''
Aberdeen came close three times in the opening three minutes and continued to carve clear openings throughout the first half.
They remained on top after the break but a misjudgement from centre-back Ash Taylor, who tried and failed to intercept a forward pass and left himself open, saw Maribor take an 83rd-minute lead.
But Hayes slotted home from eight yards four minutes later to level the scores ahead of next Thursday's second leg in Slovenia.
We're a little bit disappointed,'' the Irish winger said.It's going to be tougher over there, in front of a big crowd and the pitch isn't great. It's all in their favour, but it's only half-time.
We have seen them play at home and they are a very organised defensive unit. But the manager and Doc (Tony Docherty) will do their homework and we will carry out their instructions.''