Caanen disappointed as AEK draw

 

AEK Larnaca coach Ton Caanen was “proud but disappointed” as his side missed a golden opportunity to grab a maiden Europa League Group stage win on Thursday, following a 1-1 draw against Steaua Bucuresti.

The Larnaca team looked to be on their way to a first victory of their debut appearance in the group stages of a major European competition as they led 1-0, with Serbian striker Miljan Mrdaković missing a great chance to double his side’s advantage.  

However, it was a costly defensive error on 65 minutes that allowed the Romanians to draw level and prevent AEK from what would have been a dream win. 

“You can see a coach who is pleased on the outside but disappointed inside,” Caanen told reporters after the game. 

“My players gave everything out there and I am proud. I am not pleased with the result because based on the chances we had we could have won.”  

Having already achieved so much this season in Europe, recording the greatest victory for a Cypriot side with an 8-0 thrashing of Maltese club Floriana and overcoming Norwegian giants Rosenborg on their way to the group stage, AEK would have known that this was a great chance to beat a Steaua side short of form and struggling on their travels. 

While the Larnaca club will be happy to have collected their first point of the competition, Caanen admitted that it is was a lack of experience in such games that cost his side on Thursday. 

“After we went 1-0 up we had chances and the problem was that Steaua scored because of our mistake. 

“We must not forget that we were playing against a very good team like Steaua Bucuresti with history and experience. 

“We made mistakes since there are inexperienced players among us at a European level,” he said. 

AEK currently lie bottom of Group J with one point from two games, one point below Steaua. 

Last year’s competition semi-finalists Schalke, AEK’s next opponents in the group on October 20, top the table with four points. Maccabi Haifa have three.