Barry Robson bursting with Aberdeen pride as snarky PAOK boss refuses to give Conference League rivals their due
The Dons pulled off some heroics in Greece with Duk and Jamie McGrath on target.
Proud Barry Robson watched his side give PAOK a bloody nose and then admitted it was a cruel way for his Aberdeen side to crash out of Europe.
The Dons battled back for a 2-2 draw in the Toumba Stadium but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the Conference League qualification hunt after Eintracht Frankfurt has beaten HJK. He said: "Was it a cruel way to go out? I think so, I’ve been so proud of the players and I’m disappointed for them. The fans gave the boys a standing ovation and that says it all.
“They gave us everything, this is a team who beat Eintracht Frankfurt here and beat Olympicos 4-2 last weekend. They are a team who have been invested in to sign some real quality players. We came and went toe to toe with them, we gave them a bloody nose.”
Robson has vowed to try and win Aberdeen’s last two European games and believes his team is really growing in this arena. He proudly claimed: “Everyone who has watched us can see we have gone toe-to-toe with some big clubs, great teams in Europe. We have performed well. You have to realise the quality we are coming up against.
“You need to have courage and guts to be an Aberdeen player. We were 2-0 up with 17 minutes to go at home but although we lost the game, I thought we were excellent.
"We played well in Frankfurt, we should have beaten Helskini at home. I don’t care what anyone says, we have put in some great performances. I am so proud of the group, they are in a cup final and they can only grow further from here.”
PAOK manager Razvan Lucescu believes his side should have taken all three points. He said: "I wasn't surprised by Aberdeen. We totally controlled both games and deserved to win them both.
"We didn't win tonight but at the same time we did what we wanted to - qualified. For us that was the important step forward we wanted to take and now we can keep going in the competition."