Aberdeen secure third and potential European group stage football

The Dons won their final home game of the season comfortably

The Dons have transformed since Barry Robson took the reigns
Author: Finlay JackPublished 24th May 2023

Aberdeen fans can begin to dream of a European adventure with a return to the group stages of European football nearing.

It's after a commanding 3-0 win over 10-man St. Mirren at Pittodrie, coupled with Hearts losing to Rangers.

It leaves the Dons five points clear in third place ahead of their Jambo rivals.

Story of the night

It was a more familiar looking Barry Robson team with the returns of Ross McCrorie, Graeme Shinnie and Luis 'Duk' Lopes.

Skipper Shinnie made up for lost time by netting twice, either side of half-time, but not before Leighton Clarkson curled in a free-kick wit 15 minutes on the clock.

Thierry Small was booked for what looked like a reckless challenge on Bojan Miovski shortly after the opener. But referee Don Robertson was advised to use VAR and upgraded the booking to a straight red card.

When will the Dons enter Europe?

Whoever wins the Scottish Cup earns a Europa League play-off spot, the final qualifying round. The loser of that drops into the the European Conference League.

However, should Celtic defeat Inverness Caledonian Thistle on June 3rd, then the reward of guaranteed European football is given the the third placed team in the Premiership.

Should the Caley Jags shock Celtic, then the Aberdeen will enter the third round of European Conference League qualifying. That would mean they'd need to win two ties to qualify.

More to follow...

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