Coach Barry Robson was proud of the way his young Aberdeen side pushed streetwise Brora Rangers all the way in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Tuesday’s tie at Dudgeon Park ultimately ended in disappointment as the Reds starlets were sunk by second half goals from Jordan MacRae and Andy Macrae in a 2-0 loss.
The match was peppered with cautions from referee Ross Hardie and the visitors were left further frustrated by a red card for midfielder-turned-defender Jack Milne in the closing moments.
It had otherwise been an encouraging night, with Milne and Scotland under-19 international midfielder Ryan Duncan getting valuable game-time as they press for further first-team action, having featured in the Premier Sports Cup ties.
Brora have experienced players, but the youngsters from Aberdeen proved to be a match for them until being undone with goals on 73 and 79 minutes.
Robson fielded four under-17s, so it was admittedly a younger side than the group who won 1-0 in the same fixture at the same venue last season.
However, he was satisfied by the way they rose to the challenge and felt, with a tad more time, they could have taken it to a shoot-out.
He said: “We have now been up here three times in this competition, and we are younger every year. We had a great result last year, but we had some older boys than today.
“We tried to play a system that we thought would protect us at times and I thought it worked quite well. We really stood up to them and I am so proud of them for that.
“It is a difficult place to come to and we knew it would be difficult. But we are frustrated because, if we had managed to hold on for just a little bit longer, I think the tie would have gone to penalties and then it was anyone’s game.”
Bavidge and Harvey have running power
Last year, Aberdeen B not only beat Brora in the competition, but knocked out Championship opponents Arbroath before losing out to Hamilton.
Robson felt this younger group can walk away with their heads held high for the efforts at Dudgeon Park.
He said: “We said to the lads: ‘we’re going there to win’. You saw last year, the run we went on, but it was maybe just a year or two too much this time.
“For 75 minutes or so we were very much in this game, and we played some good stuff at times.
“They did not find it easy against us and it could have gone either way. But once they got the goal, they were just a bit too strong.
“The front two (Alfie Bavidge and Liam Harvey) did very well for us. I need a bit more quality from them, but that will come with age. They have a lot of running power and they worked hard for the team.”
Duncan and Milne making further progress
Duncan and Milne are high in the thoughts of manager Jim Goodwin, boosted by loan spells at Peterhead and Brechin respectively last term.
Robson is sure the midweek match will have been of benefit to the duo.
He added: “Ryan played for us, but he is only 18. You see the quality in him.
“Jack and Ryan have trained with the manager over the last month or two since they have come back, so the game was good for them to get another 90 minutes.”
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