…after heavy defeat.

The Dons made an early exit from Europe on another disappointing night as they lost 3-0. The tie was over as a contest after 14 minutes as the Dons found themselves 2-0 behind on the night. The first goal came in six minutes and Kascak sent Langfield the wrong way from the spot to add a second. Further disaster followed on the stroke of half time when Sigma added a third. The only player to come out of the match with credit was Jamie Langfield who made a string of fine saves including penalty stop. He must be confident ahead of the Scotland match despite the score line.

Aberdeen lined up in a 4-4-2 formation for this return leg with Foster at right back and the Dons had an early chance to put some pressure on the Sigma defence as they won a free kick in a dangerous position however Mulgrew’s effort was over hit, At the other end Foster did well to clear a dangerous cross and from the resulting corner Langfield failed to gather, but Kerr was on hand to tidy up the danger.

Unfortunately more poor defending allowed Sigma to take the lead. Andrew Considine and Stuart Duff were put under pressure by striker Tomas Horava and Langfield had to come out to narrow the angle. It seemed he had done enough as the striker hit the post but Janotka picked up the rebound and fired home despite the attempts from Foster on the line to keep the ball out. Aberdeen’s heads did not go down though and two minutes later Maguire did outstandingly well to create space for himself in the box, beat his man and force the keeper in to a fine save.

The Dons continued to put Sigma under pressure and Considine had a great chance at the back post from about 5 yards but he steered the ball back accross the face of goal and no one was on hand to put it in. The pace of Horava was causing the backline a few problems and when on 13 minutes he burst into the box he was tripped by Andrew Considine. The referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty and from the spot defender Kascak sent Langfield the wrong way. After the defeat last Thursday this was the worst possible start.

Again the Dons responded and McDonald tried to play in Mackie who had made a good run in behind the defence, but the pass just eluded him. On 22 minutes Sone Aluko got on the ball for the first time. He had a good run but he did not catch the ball as well as he would have wanted. By the half hour mark the Dons were beginning to look a bit more comfortable in possession and were knocking the ball about well. Foster put in a dangerous cross from right back but it evaded everyone. At the other end Aberdeen’s defence was beginning to look a bit more secure and they did well to clear a dangerous free-kick.

To their credit the Dons were trying to play the ball from the back and at no point did they opt to launch it long. The manager switched Sone Aluko and Darren Mackie in an effort to get things going again, but on 42 minutes Langfield did very well to get out quickly and save at the feet of Petr. Two minutes later he again had to look lively to clear a loose back pass. Unfortunately further disaster befell the Dons on the stroke of half time as Hubnik cut inside Foster, beat Langfield and calmly placed the ball past Stuart Duff on the line.

The second half did not get off to the start Aberdeen were looking for as they conceded another penalty. A through ball found Petr and Langfield pulled him down earning a booking for his mistimed challenge. However Jamie had the final say with a superb save low down to his left from substitute Ordos. Langfield was in action again in the 55th minute when he produced another fine save beating away an effort from Janotka. A minute later he produced another great piece of goalkeeping to cut out a dangerous cross. At this stage it was all Sigma.

On the hour mark Aberdeen won a corner but it almost led to another Sigma goal as they hit with pace on the break. The ball was squared to Petr but Langfield again produced an outstanding save as he raced off the line to block the effort. The Dons created a chance in the 63rd minute as Kerr released Mackie on the right but he did not get the break of the ball – pretty much summing up Aberdeen’s night.

Mark McGhee was concerned about Aberdeen’s fitness going into the last quarter and with only Derek Young on the bench who had played for the first team his options were limited. However the Dons were holding up okay and doing most of the attacking with 20 minutes to go. The game petered out in the last ten minutes with both teams content to knock the ball about. Megginson made his first team debut when he replaced Maguire in the 85th minute.

In the final minute Langfield showed more great handling with a smart save at his near post then at the other end Megginson did really well to create a chance but Mackie just failed to get on the end of it. It was another extremely disappointing night as the Dons went out of Europe. Jamie Langfield can be pleased with his performance and looks in top form as he prepares to meet up with the Scotland team this weekend.

Credit to both teams who went up and applauded the Red Army after the game.

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