Calderwood lauds awesome Aberdeen

Aberdeen FC manager Jimmy Calderwood hailed his players for creating their own piece of history after a memorable 4-0 win against FC København eased the Scottish Premier League side into the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.

Expectant crowd
A Jamie Smith double in the first ten minutes of the second period lit up a capacity crowd at Pittodrie and a Mikaal Antonsson own goal plus Richard Foster's late strike emphatically rounded off a fine evening for the home side. It was Aberdeen's first victory in the competition but took them above their visitors into third place and secured European football beyond Christmas for the first time in more than 20 years.

'Biggest game'
"I said it was the biggest game of my managerial career," said Calderwood, whose side won the 1983 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson. "We all know the history of this great club and the lads have made their own bit. I'm so happy for the players because most of them have been together for three years, worked so hard to get here and deserved it. København have won in Amsterdam [against AFC Ajax], they beat Manchester United [FC] and Celtic [FC, both in the UEFA Champions League group stage last season] and we have beaten them convincingly with a great performance."

Smith praise
The Aberdeen manager expected a tight first half but told his players to "keep believing" and Smith turned the game with a superb strike on his return from a hamstring injury. "It was a wonderful goal from Jamie Smith," said Calderwood. "København had to open up after that which doesn't suit them and we punished them. Smith is so special, he has two great feet. I was a little bit annoyed with him in the first half when he had the chance to take a defender on in the box and didn't, but I'll let him off." Goalkeeper Jamie Langfield also played a part by keeping a clean sheet, and he had further reason to celebrate today when he penned a new three-year contract.

'Lost our heads'
Meanwhile visiting coach Ståle Solbakken was understandably concerned with the way his side folded after Smith's goals, saying: "It was like two games in one. We controlled the game until they scored the first goal. After they scored the second, we lost our heads. The game was not over but we didn't have the mental, and maybe physical, strength to come back."