Source: PA
Hartley hails improving spirit
Aberdeen captain Paul Hartley believes team spirit is beginning to improve after they fought back to avert another cup shock.
Hartley scored a second-half double to secure a 2-1 victory over Falkirk at Pittodrie last night and a place in the last four of the Co-operative Insurance Cup.
Mehdi Khalis had given Irn-Bru First Division Falkirk a deserved half-time lead to stoke memories of Aberdeen`s cup defeats by Raith Rovers, Dundee, Dunfermline, Queen of the South and Queen`s Park in the past four seasons.
But Hartley headed an equaliser before netting his seventh penalty of the season deep into injury-time after Khalis was controversially ruled to have fouled Chris Maguire.
"We started the first half very poorly and we deserved to go in behind," Hartley told RedTV. "We got a bit of rollicking at half-time and we were out the cup basically.
"But we showed desire and attitude. People will say we were fortunate with penalty but we`ll take it."
