Aberdeen’s Europa League hopes are done and dusted for another season at least but the Dons cannot allow themselves to wallow in self-pity following their heartbreaking exit in Maribor on Thursday.
A new Scottish Premiership season is upon us and no amount of wondering what might have been will change matters.
No, the best way Derek McInnes and his players can put the pain of exiting European football behind them is to ensure they are back playing European football next summer.
Yes the pain is raw, the anger palpable and the anguish cuts deep. Bulgarian referee Nikola Popov is a man anyone connected with Pittodrie will forget in a hurry following a display which bordered on gross incompetence.
He should have sent off Maribor goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovic when he awarded a penalty or let Niall McGinn’s goal stand.
There has been much debate about the new double-jeopardy rule whereby the concession of a penalty should not lead to an automatic red card but serious foul play is a red card offence regardless of where the offence takes place and in this scribe’s opinion a stud first challenge on an opponent’s Achilles seems pretty serious to me.
Rooney did not go down looking for a penalty. He was, to use football parlance, wiped out completely in a cynical stop at all costs challenge by the goalkeeper which is why the referee’s failure to act decisively set the tone for what was to follow.
Graeme Shinnie was fortunate not to be red carded for a wild tackle of his own before half-time too yet remarkably the official’s performance got worse.
Jayden Stockley was sent off for challenging for two headers. He did not commit a foul in either case, let alone one worthy of a booking.
Add in a farcical own goal where the pitch took the ball away from the swinging right foot of goalkeeper Joe Lewis to leave him red faced and it was a fitting end to an incredible night in Slovenia.
Lewis should be spared of blame as it was a freak bounce but he will have felt terrible.
For the neutral it would have been comical but there is little for the Dons to laugh about.
However, Popov was not the sole reason Aberdeen missed out on the play-off round. The normally reliable Adam Rooney could have had four goals across the two games and somehow he ended the tie having failed to score.
He’ll put it behind him and get back to doing what he does best, scoring goals for fun, but to end his 100% record from the spot at the 15th attempt in the most crucial of circumstances will have stung the Dons forward.
There is no time for licking of wounds though, not when St Johnstone, a team who did so much damage to Aberdeen’s title challenge last season, stand between the Dons and a winning start to the new season on Sunday.
It was the defeats to the Saints last season which convinced McInnes his side lacked a physical presence and he has done much to alter that perception with the arrival of Stockley, Anthony O’Connor and Joe Lewis in the close season.
We’ve seen little of O’Connor so far but he is a player rated highly by the Dons manager while Lewis and Stockley have already shown themselves to be fine additions.
Wes Burns was excellent in his 50 minute outing in Maribor while Miles Storey is already a proven commodity in the division following his exploits with Caley Thistle.
For the new arrivals, last night was a painful introduction to European football but surely the campaign will have whetted the appetite to experience it again.
The Dons supporters believe in their side and are travelling to Perth in big numbers tomorrow.
Here’s hoping Aberdeen can reward their backing by starting on a winning note.
