Aberdeen manager Barry Robson insists his crestfallen side “missed a trick” after missing out on a place in the Europa League group stage.
The Dons were punished for not taking their chances as a slick BK Hacken beat Aberdeen 3-1 at Pittodrie to progress to the group stage thanks to a 5-3 aggregate win.
Duk and Bojan Miovski failed to score when one on one with Peter Abrahamsson with the Hacken goalkeeper also tipping a Miovski header onto the crossbar in a thrilling end-to-end encounter.
Robson was downbeat but proud of his players.
The Dons boss said: “The boys are gutted, they know they missed a trick out there.
“Duk was one-on-one and Bojan was too. Great chances.
“Hacken created chances too, don’t get me wrong. But we created loads and it’s frustrating.
“Hacken are a top team, everyone saw the front players they have.
“I believe over the two legs we should have gone through with the amount of chances we created.”
Barry Robson delighted with aspects of Aberdeen display in Europa League exit
Robson was proud at seeing his side take the game to Hacken but knows there are lessons to be learned following their defeat.
He said: “What a brilliant performance from my players, I was so pleased with them.
“The way we passed, the way we pressed and the way we ran, the speed – I thought we were a great watch out there.
“When you go in against a team like that who normally have 75% of possession, they had one counter attack and a wonder goal.
“We don’t want to sit here and sit in, we wanted to have a real go and you can see over the two legs how we performed.”
Following their Europa League exit the Dons will turn their attention to the Conference League and will discover their opponents when the draw for the group stage is made at 1.30pm on Friday.
Dons defensive cohesion will come
Robson knows his side will need to tighten up defensively but is excited at having more European football to look forward to.
He said: “When we come against top teams we are not going to go gung-ho and lose loads of goals, we’re built on structure.
“You have to get that structure and cohesion. I’m not naive enough to think you don’t need the defensive side of the game.
“We didn’t want to sit in tonight and I felt we did enough to go through but they will probably say the same.
“We got the job done of getting to the Conference League.”
Sadiq signs off on a high
While there was disappointment for the Dons, BK Hacken boss Per-Mathias Hogmo was delighted at seeing his side progress to the group stage of the Europa League following their victory at Pittodrie.
Hogmo also hailed the display of Ibrahim Sadiq on his last game for the club.
The winger, who is set to join AZ Alkmaar, scored two first-half goals to help set his side on their way to victory.
The Hacken manager said: “Ibra was on his way in the winter but he chose to stay. He helped us become champions of Sweden and now into the Europa League.
“This shows the mentality of him, he played his last game and gave everything. So a big thank you to him for what he’s done.”
Sadiq was delighted to end his time with Hacken on a high.
He said: “It means a lot to us. It is so big for the history of Hacken and I am so happy. Aberdeen are a big team with good players and crazy fans.
“This is my last game for Hacken and I am really proud to help them to this stage. I have done my part and now I will move to AZ.”
Conversation