Aberdeen’s mini-revival was halted in demoralising fashion as they crashed to a meek 6-0 Europa Conference League defeat at the hands of AEK Athens in the noisy OPAP Arena.
Jimmy Thelin’s side arrived in the Greek capital buoyed by moving off the bottom of the William Hill Premiership following back-to-back wins over Dundee and St Mirren.
But their hopes of building further momentum and picking up their first Conference League points were destroyed as the ruthless hosts eased into a three-goal half-time lead.
The Greeks continued in the ascendancy after the break to leave the bedraggled Reds – who travel to Cyprus to play Larnaca in a fortnight – languishing at the foot of the table with no points and a goal difference of minus seven.
Thelin: This loss is not acceptable
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin:
“We know it’s not acceptable. It was 6-0, but it could be more. There is so much to improve, but also we played two games before in the league and it was two clean sheets and a stable performance.
“Tonight, Athens exposed us and that’s what we have to learn from. So, sometimes, just hands up, they win, totally deserved.
Aberdeen head coach Jimmy Thelin and Leighton Clarkson during the 6-0 loss to AEK Athens
“It was a difficult one, the way the game went. We felt really prepared before the game as a collective after our latest results and clean sheets.
“But when the game started like it did, when they exposed us so much in the transitions and scored these early goals, we were under pressure directly and we couldn’t find a way to come back in the game.
“You can lose games sometimes but you have to find a way to stop it, and we tried, but we didn’t succeed today. We need to find a way in these kind of games to help each other much, much better.
“We have a journey to do to grow and prepare ourselves for this level. But, of course, it went too far, and all the chances they created today were too much.
“You need to find a way as a collective to say ‘OK, we have to stop it here now’.”
