Football Update: Dons have won a ‘golden chance’ in Europa League

FOR three years in a row, Aberdeen have stumbled at the third qualifying round stage of the Europa League.

But Andrew Considine, their long-serving defender, believes they have at last got a golden opportunity to progress to the play-off round by defeating Cypriots Apollon Limassol.

The Dons gave Scottish football a shot in the arm with a much-needed win against Bosnians Siroki Brijeg, following hugely disappointing exits for Rangers and St Johnstone.

Considine has been part of Aberdeen teams who can boast a decent record on their European travels after impressive away wins against current Croatian champions, Rijeka, Groningen plus two wins in Latvia.

And he strongly believes they are better equipped this season to take that extra step in Europe after Thursday’s 2-0 win in Bosnia.

“I don’t know much about Apollon, but it’s absolutely a golden chance to try and get to that next stage,” he said.

“But I’m sure they are probably thinking exactly the same thing.

“If we can up our game on Thursday, hopefully we can get a performance and a couple of goals to go with it.

“It’s going to be even hotter and tougher in Cyprus than it was in Bosnia. But we have been to some really tough places in Europe and achieved results so there is no reason why we can’t do so again.

“Last season I felt we had an incredible squad and enjoyed a tremendous season.

“The boys the gaffer has recruited have certainly matched the expectations of what the manager has asked for. I feel that another week or two before we go to Cyprus will certainly benefit us.

“In Bosnia, it was a very similar performance to two seasons ago in Rijeka. It was a tough first 10 minutes when Siroki were right on top and we couldn’t get out of our own half.

“Fortunately, the water break came at a good time and we managed to re-group. We started to pass the ball a bit better and started to settle into the game.

“I always thought it would be a game where we would need to show a lot of patience and be clinical, which we were. We created two fantastic chances and dispatched them brilliantly.”

Celtic loanee Ryan Christie was superb with his two vital assists and looks set to be a big part of Aberdeen’s hopes and ambitions this season.

Considine stated: “Ryan brings a lot of creativity. He’s also a ball carrier which we had in both Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn last season. Gary Mackay-Steven will also now do that job for us.

“When we went two goals up we needed someone to take the ball down the line and Ryan was the man for that as, technically, with the ball at his feet, he’s out of this world.

“Ryan and Greg Stewart have been fantastic for us since they came in. They were asked to do big jobs as Siroki’s wing-backs were going up and down their flanks the whole game. They can feel great about themselves.

“It was important for the whole of Scottish football that we managed to get through.

“But we also had something to prove to ourselves as a team. In the first-leg, we didn’t show just how good a team we can be.

“In the second leg, however, we managed to get the job done, which is brilliant.”