Aberdeen’s UEFA Conference League campaign ended in disappointment as they were hammered 3–0 by Sparta Prague on Thursday, leaving the Scottish side at the bottom of their group.

Sparta Prague booked their place in the last 16 with a dominant display, handing Aberdeen their third consecutive heavy defeat against Czech opposition in the league phase. The Scottish side, already winless through the opening five rounds, were on the back foot from the start.

The visitors’ task was made even harder in the 16th minute when John Mercado cut in from the right and curled a left-footed shot into the far corner, putting Sparta ahead. The second goal followed a familiar pattern: Lukáš Haraslín drifted in from the right wing and rifled the ball into the same corner, doubling the lead.

Sparta continued to dominate for the remainder of the first half, with Aberdeen surviving a late scare as Pavel Kadeřábek’s cross was acrobatically volleyed goalwards by Sivert Mannsverk, only to narrowly miss.

The second half saw more pressure from the Czech side. Haraslín curled an effort wide before Albion Rrahmani’s header was comfortably saved by Dimitar Mitov. Substitute Garang Kuol finally broke through in the 70th minute after Aberdeen turned the ball over in their defensive third, with Jan Kuchta finding the unmarked Kuol at the back post to finish clinically past Mitov.

Aberdeen’s first meaningful attack came after the 80th minute, when Marko Lazetić curled a shot wide of the far post. That late effort was as close as the Scots came to scoring, with Sparta ultimately easing off to keep the final score at 3–0.

The defeat confirmed Aberdeen’s place at the bottom of the group, while Sparta Prague advanced safely to the last 16, extending their unbeaten home run in European competition to six matches.