After Aberdeen endured their worst-ever European defeat, conceding six goals to AEK Athens last month, even the most hopeful fans likely gave up on their Conference League knockout ambitions.
However, a vastly improved performance against AEK Larnaca on Thursday earned Jimmy Thelin’s men their first point of the European campaign, keeping their faint hopes of qualification alive.
Aberdeen will now host Noah of Armenia and France’s Strasbourg in their next two group fixtures before concluding the league stage away to Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic.
Last season, eight points were enough to secure a place in the play-off round, while Celje, Omonia Nicosia, Molde, and TSC advanced with seven. Scotland’s own representatives, Hearts, also finished with seven points but missed out due to an inferior goal difference to TSC.
Based on last season’s benchmark, Aberdeen will likely need at least two wins to stay in the race.
The home clash with Noah at Pittodrie is a must-win, while Strasbourg’s visit will see the French side arrive as clear favourites.
That would leave Aberdeen facing a daunting final trip to face European regulars Sparta Prague in mid-December—a tough challenge, particularly given their recent struggles to find consistency.
Still, defender Nicky Devlin remains optimistic, viewing the draw in Cyprus as a potential turning point.
“Hopefully it proves to be a really important point for us,” he said.
“It was crucial to get back to the things the manager’s been emphasising, especially after our last away performance in Europe, which was very disappointing.
“Hopefully, by the end of the group stage, we’ll look back and see this as a valuable point.”
