Aberdeen have now been knocked out of the Europa League in the third qualifying round in each of the last four seasons, but this match will not be remembered for simply being the latest in a frustrating sequence of results. This was a tough night for the Pittodrie side in Cyprus, a match played in front of a wild home crowd, a game that was so stop-start that it seemed as though it was constantly buffering, with goals from Andre Schembri and Emilio Zelaya enough for Apollon Limassol to progress. They join Real Sociedad, Kairat Almaty and Maribor in knocking Aberdeen out at this stage of the competition.
But the violent scenes after the match, as a number of Aberdeen supporters clashed with riot police, will mean that the encounter is be looked back on for the wrong reasons.
It was stifling in Larnaca. The sun may have set but the temperature never dropped below 30C. The AEK Arena is not an intimidating place to play football — it holds only 7,400 fans — but the home supporters made their presence known. It was uncomfortable for Aberdeen in front of a raucous crowd, who twice caused play to be halted in the second half when flares resulted in clouds of smoke enveloping the players.
Derek McInnes, the Aberdeen manager, went with Jayden Stockley as the lone striker in the absence of the injured Adam Rooney. Stockley possesses decent aerial ability, but he was outsmarted on several occasions by Alef, the Brazilian holding midfielder, and Valentin Roberge, a resolute centre-back. The Aberdeen forward was booked before half-time for using his elbows and then hooked soon after the break to be replaced by Nicky Maynard.
McInnesmay have made the wrong choice up front, but he looked to have got things right initially. Graeme Shinnie was composed, Ryan Christie was tenacious in chasing down balls, and Anthony O’Connor looked to have the measure of Anton Maglica, Apollon’s Croatian striker.
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Jander Santana fired the ball over the crossbar from 25 yards and Shinnie dragged a shot wide from a similar distance at the other end, but there was no penetration from either side. Indeed, the opening goal, from Schembri, came out of the blue.
Santana — who equalised for Apollon at Pittodrie last week — first breezed past Greg Stewart, only for his low cross to be cut out by O’Connor. Then Maglica got in ahead of the Aberdeen defender to keep the ball in play and pull it back for Schembri, whose shot hit the back of the net, despite Gary Mackay-Steven’s best efforts to keep it out.
Christie tried to restore parity with a quick free-kick but Bruno Vale got across his goal well to palm it wide. The goal did not appear to have unsettled Aberdeen, but they knew that they could no longer sit back. They needed a goal.
With half-time approaching, however, they began to wilt. Stockley got his booking; Christie was booked for a trip; and O’Connor was also shown a yellow card for catching an opponent with his arms.
Half-time gave Aberdeen the chance to regain composure but the antics of the Apollon crowd soon upset the flow of the game. On two occasions within the first ten minutes of the second period, Stephan Klossner, the Swiss official, had to halt play due to smoke clouding the pitch.
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Uefa will fine Apollon for the incidents but, for Aberdeen, the damage is done. Kenny McLean should have reignited hope of progression for the Pittodrie side when he was slipped in by Maynard, but the midfielder lost control of the ball and the chance was gone.
It was an encouraging sign soon forgotten amid crowd disturbance, water breaks and the play-acting of Apollon players, which made it difficult for the visitors to build momentum.
In the end, Aberdeen conceded again. Marios Styliano’s shot was tipped on to the bar miraculously by Joe Lewis, but Zelaya lashed a volley into the net.
After the match, some Aberdeen supporters brawled with stewards. Fists were raised and kicks were thrown in both directions, scenes which will cast a dark shadow over what had started out as a bright adventure for the visitors.