Aberdeen eased to a comfortable 5-0 win against an ill-disciplined Daugava Riga side that ended the match with nine men in last night’s Europa League first round qualifier.
Barry Robson had missed a penalty before Shaleum Logan opened the scoring with a diving header after 33 minutes.
A Niall McGinn strike and an Adam Rooney penalty shortly after the interval helped the Dons seize control against a Latvian side that did their utmost to prevent the Dons finding their rhythm with some tough tackling and were reduced to ten men when Vitalijs Zils was shown a second yellow card.
Jonny Hayes added a fourth and Rooney netted a fifth in injury time to ensure the second leg in Riga in a week’s time is a mere formality, while Aurimas Kucys was also red carded late on to complete a miserable night for the Latvians.
Derek McInnes’ side had been heavily fancied to progress from this encounter but the memory of the Dons’ demise at the hands of Daugava’s city rivals Skonto 20 years still lives long in the memory for the older members of the Aberdeen faithful.
Daugava qualified for the Europa League by finishing fourth in the Latvian championship. They are seventh after 19 games this season and their 5-1 defeat to Skonto last Wednesday was watched by a mere 94 supporters.
Aberdeen’s last foray into European competition was a particularly unpleasant one with the team suffering an embarrassing 8-1 aggregate defeat to Sigma Olomouc, which included a crushing 5-1 first leg defeat at Pittodrie five years ago.
But after a tough pre-season camp in Dublin and scoring 13 goals in three friendly matches, the Dons had every reason to head into this match with plenty of confidence of setting up a second round qualifier against Dutch side Groningen.
There were no surprises in the Aberdeen starting XI as McInnes stuck with the same side that started in Saturday’s 7-0 friendly win at Arbroath.
More than 13,000 were expected at Pittodrie to kick off the new season and some of the late arrivals were still finding their seats when Barry Robson tested Emilijus Zubas in the opening minute.
The Dons search for an early goal to settle the nerves continued with Ryan Jack crossing for Adam Rooney but the Irishman could only head wide.
But the Dons were given the opportunity to break the deadlock when French referee Nicolas Rainville pointed to the spot after Rooney had been barged over by Valdemar Borovskij but Robson’s penalty was excellently saved by Zubas.
The tough-tackling Latvians, who had three players booked in the opening 20 minutes, continued to sit deep, inviting Aberdeen to attack at will.
But, after a Niall McGinn free kick had been well saved by Zubas, the Dons finally made the breakthrough.
Robson’s deep cross found Shaleum Logan unmarked at the back post and the Dons full back headed the ball home to the delight of a relieved home support.
The card-happy French whistler was doing little to endear himself to either side, drawing the ire of the home faithful for booking Rooney for a late sliding challenge on goalkeeper Zubas.
Peter Pawlett required lengthy treatment just before the break after coming off second best in a robust challenge with Aurimas Kucys, and had to be replaced by Cammy Smith five minutes into the second half.
The Dons made a stunning start to the second period with McGinn doubling their advantage after latching onto a Ryan Jack cross and smashing the ball into the roof of the net after his initial effort had been saved.
And it got even better for the Dons in the 51st minute when Edijs Joksts handled in the box and the hosts were awarded a second spot-kick, which this time was converted by Rooney.
The Latvians had completely lost their discipline by this stage and it was no surprise to see Vitalijs Zils sent off for a second bookable offence.
A member of the Daugava coaching staff was sent to the stands for complaining about referee Rainville’s pernickety approach to proceedings before the Dons added a fourth.
Robson’s deep cross was headed back across goal by Rooney to the unmarked Hayes who powerfully volleyed the ball past the dejected Zubas.
With the game won, McInnes introduced talented 16-year-old Scott Wright for Robson, who had caused the Daugava defence plenty of problems.
Daugava were reduced to nine men in the 81st minute when Aurimas Kucys was also shown a second yellow card for a very late challenge on McGinn.
And there was still time for Rooney to score a fifth in injury time with a smart finish from a Hayes cross.