Seeing the name Zalgiris Vilinius again is enough to send a shiver down my spine.
The Lithuanian club lie could lie in wait for Aberdeen following the Europa League play-off round draw by UEFA yesterday.
They will face the Dons provided they can overcome BK Hacken of Sweden in the third qualifying round, which gets underway this week.
Aberdeen have beaten both clubs, having edged Zalgiris 5-4 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup in 1996 while Stephen Glass’ Dons team beat Hacken 5-3 on aggregate in the Conference League two years ago.
Looking at the two clubs I’d expect Zalgiris to be the team standing between the Dons and the group stage of the Europa League when the first leg is played on August 24.
They beat North Macedonian side Struga in the first qualifying round of the Champions League before pushing Galatasary to the limit in the second qualifying round.
The Turkish club won 3-2 on aggregate but it’s clear Zalgiris are no mugs.
Hacken have been less convincing. They beat The New Saints comfortable 5-1 on aggregate in the Champions League first qualifying round.
But they struggled against KL Klasvik of the Faroe Islands, losing 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw at home in Gothenburg last week in what was one of the shocks of the second qualifying round.
Zalgiris are a dangerous outfit
If Zalgiris do beat the Swedes then Aberdeen would do well not to be lulled into a false sense of security.
When we played them in 1996 we won comfortably in the first leg. I got a goal, Stephen Glass scored and Billy Dodds bagged a brace as we beat then 4-1 in Lithuania.
My biggest memory though was of our opponents arriving in Aberdeen with their wives and all going on a shopping spree in the city centre in the second leg while we were resting up for the game.
It appeared as if they were on a holiday but they beat us 3-1 at Pittodrie in what was a horrible night.
Brian Irvine’s goal was vital as they piled on the pressure looking for a goal to take the tie to extra-time.
Recent results suggest they are a better team today than the one we faced all those years ago.
Robson has work to do ahead of play-off matches
But whoever his side face later this month it’s clear Dons boss Barry Robson has some fine tuning to do following Saturday’s goalless draw at Livingston.
There’s not much to be said about the opening game of the new season for Aberdeen.
They didn’t manage a shot on target but they kept a clean sheet and picked up a point from what is a notoriously tough place to go.
Barry is still looking for new players and it’s clear his squad needs some support.
The loss of Ylber Ramadani last week is a blow for the Aberdeen manager as I think he’d do well to replace the Albanian for the £1.2million the club received from Lecce.
The Dons boss was disappointed at the lack of cutting edge from his team at Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday and that’s something which his squad will need to find for when league champions Celtic visit Pittodrie on Sunday.
Defeat but no disgrace for Ross County
A predictable outcome for Ross County from their opening day loss at Celtic but Malky Mackay’s side gave a very good account of themselves against the champions.
Facing the Hoops when it’s the day they unfurl the championship flag is a difficult task but the Staggies did not look out of place in Glasgow despite their 4-2 defeat.
Malky will be disappointed with some of the goals his side conceded but there won’t be many sides who score twice at Celtic Park this season.
That’s one crumb of comfort he can take from what was a committed showing.
County have been handed the toughest of starts with games against Celtic and Rangers in their opening three games.
That gives Saturday’s home match against St Johnstone even greater significance.
Games against Celtic and Rangers will not define Ross County’s season but matches against the likes of St Johnstone undoubtedly will.
The Perth Saints haven’t looked convincing at all in the League Cup and started with a 2-0 home defeat by Hearts on Saturday.
I fear from Steven MacLean’s side this season. He’s still looking to add to his squad and if County can take advantage of that by picking up all three points this weekend I’m sure Malky will be thrilled.
Caley Thistle need to show powers of recovery at Ayr
A 2-1 home defeat by Queen’s Park was not the start Billy Dodds was looking for at Caley Thistle.
The Spiders are a useful outfit and it’s clear they want to show they are not one-season wonders by mounting another challenge for promotion.
The Championship is going to be dog-eat-dog on a weekly basis and Inverness need to bounce back when they travel to Ayr United this weekend.
The Honest Men were also beaten on the opening day, going down 3-1 at Morton and I’m sure both managers will be looking for a response from their players this week.
I said last week I didn’t expect one team to run away with the title this year and Dundee United’s resounding 4-0 win at Arbroath hasn’t changed my mind on that.
But the last thing you want to be doing is letting your rivals open up a gap in the opening weeks of the season.
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