St Johnstone manager Craig Levein admitted he had ditched a plan to take debutant David Keltjens off before the Israel international netted a late equaliser against Aberdeen.
Saints appeared to be heading towards a hard-luck story after Bojan Miovski’s penalty put the Dons ahead but debutant Keltjens headed home in the 78th minute to seal a 1-1 draw.
The 28-year-old January signing had been without a club since last season and Levein planned to remove him after an hour after starting him at wing-back.
“That was our intention but he was doing so well that I didn’t see any reason to take him off,” the saints boss said.
“David was excellent. He has hardly played any football at all for a long time and that was one of the considerations when we signed him. But he has played six times for Israel and he is a good age.
“It was just about whether he was capable of performing at the levels that we require and he more than did. He was steady, reliable and tough. To get the goal was the icing on the cake.”
Liam Gordon was twice on the end of VAR decisions – a disallowed goal and a penalty – which were far from clear and obvious to anyone inside McDiarmid Park, including Levein.
The Saints skipper was penalised for catching Jamie McGrath after the midfielder cleared only as far as Graham Carey, whose volley had squeezed inside the near post of Kelle Roos.
The defender was then ruled to have fouled Slobodan Rubezic following a Dons corner and referee John Beaton pointed to the spot after being called to his monitor for a second time by Steven Kirkland.
Levein, who felt his side deserved “at least a point”, said: “I haven’t seen any of the incidents. The boys said Gordy caught somebody for their penalty so that was fair enough. I don’t know what happened with their disallowed goal. I will wait and see.
“It was a bit of a palaver to be honest. It does seem there is a lot of time taken to make decisions and if every decision was correct then I would be happy for them to spend as much time as they want.
“But when you have human beings involved, there is always a chance there is going to be errors. I’m not saying there was tonight because I don’t know.”
Aberdeen missed the chance to move into the cinch Premiership top six and manager Barry Robson felt his side paid the price for poor game management.
“It was disappointing, when you are 1-0 up with 15 minutes to go, you are hoping to go on and win the game,” said Robson, who lost Rubezic late on to a knee injury which will require a scan.
“When the opposition is coming at you and they will come at you, you have to be calm and use your experience. You get your distances right, stop crosses coming into the box and when the ball does come in the box, you win your headers.
“We never did that well enough in the last 15 minutes.”
Postecoglou hails 'fantastic' youngster Moore after late Vissel Kobe winner
Ange Postecoglou saluted "fantastic" Mikey Moore, after the teenager struck a late winner in Tottenham's J-League World Challenge clash with Vissel Kobe.
The 16-year-old was the hero with his 88th-minute strike sealing a 3-2 victory at the Japan National Stadium in what was Spurs' first match in their preseason tour of the Far East.
Academy graduate Moore became Tottenham's youngest Premier League player when, aged 16 years and 277 days, he made his senior debut against Manchester City in the penultimate game of last season.
And Postecoglou insists the England youth international, who has scored 10 goals in 12 appearances at under-17 level, is deserving of his first-team opportunities.
"Mikey has been fantastic since we brought him in," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "He's earned his spot on the roster at the moment; he did at the end of last year.
"He got a run with the first team because we could see in training that he was handling himself really well, and that's followed through into pre-season training.
"He's been good in all the games; he probably should have had three tonight, but he did take his goal well by being in the right areas.
"All we can do is keep allowing him to develop. We have to remember that, last year, he had some injuries, and he is only 16.
"I think the future with a lot of our young guys looks pretty promising, but it's our responsibility to make sure they realise their potential and continue to work hard at their game."
Spurs made it three wins from three during preseason, following their 5-1 and 2-0 victories over Hearts and Queens Park Rangers respectively.
"I thought it was a good game," Postecoglou added. "The conditions did make it difficult for both teams, and we've had a hard week of training.
"Credit to the boys. I thought we played some decent football, and they put in as much effort as they humanly could out there.
"You want to provide some sort of entertainment for the supporters who made a great turnout tonight, not just Spurs supporters, but football supporters in general. It's always nice to give back in that way and, overall, I was pleased."
Atletico and Sociedad reach agreement over Le Normand transfer
Atletico Madrid have "reached an agreement" with Real Sociedad over the signing of Robin Le Normand.
The Spain defender, who was part of the side that won Euro 2024, will finalise his move to Atleti "in the coming days" for a fee believed to be in the region of €34.5million.
French-born Le Normand started his career with Brest before spending eight years with Txuri-Urdin, for whom he made 221 senior appearances across all competitions, while winning the 2019-20 Copa del Rey.
The 27-year-old is fresh from international success in Germany, where he played in six of Spain's seven matches, while he also helped La Roja win the Nations League last year.
A statement on Atletico's official website read: "Atletico and Sociedad have reached an agreement for the transfer of Le Normand. The deal will be finalised in the coming days when the player returns from his holiday.
Meanwhile, Sociedad wrote on X: "We'll always remember his dedication and gratitude to the colours that have shaped him into the player he is today. Good luck."
Guardiola 'cannot imagine' Man City's Premier League success without Ederson
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's Premier League dominance in recent seasons would not have been possible without Ederson.
The Brazil goalkeeper's future at the Etihad Stadium is uncertain, amid speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Ederson has been an integral figure for City since his arrival from Benfica in 2017, with 112 clean sheets in 250 Premier League appearances under Guardiola, while recording a save percentage of 68.17.
The 30-year-old conceded just 26 goals last season as the Citizens won an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title - and their sixth since he joined the club.
Ederson's distribution has also been crucial to City's success, notably completing 942 of his 1,097 passes last term (85.87%).
"I wish from the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us," Guardiola said. "I would love him to stay.
"I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."
Ederson could feature for City on Saturday when they continue their pre-season tour of the United States against Paulo Fonseca's Milan at the Yankee Stadium.
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