Lukas Haraslin celebratesGetty Images

Sparta captain Lukas Haraslin made it two with a powerful shot

At a glance

  • First-half goals from Mercado and Haraslin put Sparta in control

  • Former Hearts forward Kuol makes it three after the break

  • Aberdeen finish bottom of Conference League table with two points from six matches

George O'Neill
BBC Sport Scotland

Aberdeen finished second-bottom of the Uefa Conference League table as their disappointing campaign concluded with a three-goal loss at Sparta Prague.

First-half strikes from John Mercado and Lukas Haraslin put the hosts two goals to the good in a game in which the Scottish Premiership side only had pride to play for.

And former Newcastle and Hearts forward Garang Kuol made it three after the break.

It took until the 50th minute for Aberdeen to have their first shot at goal - Adil Aouchiche bending past the far post from the edge of the box - and they didn't have a single shot on target on a night when they were firmly second best.

Jimmy Thelin's side finish the league stage with two points from six matches, albeit they have played five of the top eight sides in the competition.

Off the back of a seven-game unbeaten run domestically - and having held their own against Strasbourg last week - Aberdeen started brightly in the Czech capital, stringing passes together confidently and getting in behind the home defence.

However, with their first real chance, Sparta hit the front. An errant clearance from Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov gifted possession to Sivert Mannsverk, and the ball went wide to Mercado, who chopped inside and found the bottom corner.

The second goal wasn't dissimilar as the impressive Haraslin cut onto his left foot and emphatically found the back of the net, beating Mitov with sheer power.

It was another Aberdeen error that led to the third as Jack Milne gave it away on the edge of his own box, allowing Jan Kuchta to tee up Australia international Kuol unmarked at the far post, and he fired beyond Mitov under no pressure.

It could have been more too, as Aberdeen tired and Sparta penned the visitors in their own half.

Analysis: Dons rue luck after another mismatch

Next five fixtures graphic

It has been a chastening European campaign for the Pittodrie outfit, shipping 14 goals and scoring just three across their six matches.

Aberdeen's high point was a goalless draw at AEK Larnaca, while their other point came in a disappointing 1-1 against Noah at Pittodrie, with the Armenian side the only one of the Dons' opponents not to qualify directly for the last 16.

Aberdeen will point to the difficulty of their opponents, but they have not been taking on Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

Yes, AEK Athens, Sparta and Shakhtar finished in the top eight, but they did so because of the three points they took against Aberdeen.

Lincoln Red Imps finished on seven points, while Jagiellonia Bialystok, Drita, KuPS, Shkendija and Sigma all qualified for the play-off round - sides who Aberdeen would back themselves to compete with.

Mitov handed the initiative to Sparta for their opener with a needless pass into midfield and from there, Aberdeen were never in the contest.

They must now regroup and recover before they go to crisis-ridden Celtic in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday (15:00).

What Thelin said

Thelin reviews Aberdeen's Conference League campaign

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin said: "Congratulations to Sparta Prague for the win. We start OK before they score the first goal. After that, the game got in their direction.

"We make it really difficult for ourselves. Second half was a little bit better, but still not good enough. We didn't arrive to a shot on target. Of course the game is fair - they were better.

"In the long term, the players will grow a lot from the experience they have now.

"We have played now six opponents and five of them are top eight. The quality is there - one mistake and they punish you. The only way to grow is to learn from it and have a strong belief these players will be better next season.

"Our goal last season was to go to Europe - we did. We have played the top teams in this group phase and right now we are not in that level. We still have to grow as a club and a team to be more competitive next time.

"Some of the games - Noah at home, Strasbourg at home - were quite good games. But the difference with the quality, when mistakes are there, they have punished us. We need to decrease mistakes and be more dangerous."

Player of the match

P. Vindahl
6.00
1 P. Vindahl
6.00
26 P. Vydra
6.00
25 A. Sørensen
6.00
19 A. Ševínský
6.00
30 J. Zelený
6.00
5 Santiago Eneme
6.00
20 S. Mannsverk
6.00
3 P. Kadeřábek
6.00
22 L. Haraslín
6.00
9 Albion Rrahmani
6.00
7 J. Mercado
6.00
14 V. Birmančević
6.00
10 J. Kuchta
6.00
36 G. Kuol
6.00
18 L. Sadílek
6.00
2 M. Suchomel
6.00
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