Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood was full of praise after their Uefa Cup victory believing it to be his greatest achievement.
Dons hold on for gritty 1-1 draw in Ukraine
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood was full of praise after their Uefa Cup victory believing it to be his greatest achievement.
In a great week for Scottish football, the Dons drew 1-1 with Dnipro in Ukraine to qualify for the group stages of the competition.
Darren Mackie scored the vital away goal in the first half, but the Dons then had to survive a late onslaught after Dnipro levelled with 15 minutes left when a clearance cannoned off Andriy Vorobey into the net.
Achievement
Praising his team, Calderwood said: "I took Dunfermline to the Scottish Cup final and into Europe and then Aberdeen into Europe.
"But winning against a team of this quality is definitely the biggest achievement of my career.
"In the group I don't think we will face two or three teams as good as Dnipro. Maybe one but there won't be many as good as this team.
"It's a great result for Scottish football and a great result for us.
"Our coefficient will be going up and maybe we might get another team in the Uefa Cup.
"Five out of the league wouldn't be too bad."
Calderwood particularly praised Mackie, who scored his first of the season in his first start since August following a hamstring problem.
And he also hailed keeper Jamie Langfield, who only returned to the team for the goalless first leg after an incident on his stag night in May saw him lose the number one jersey.
Pint
Calderwood said: "We brought him back and it wasn't an easy decision. But it is great for us and great for Jamie and, you never know, I might even buy him a pint.
"Our goalkeeper made a great save after three minutes, the game-plan could have gone out the window. But we got the goal we believed we could get.
"I brought Darren back, he has been out for a few weeks, but he is our top scorer in the last few years. He was ideal for the system we wanted to play."
