DAVID Raven, the Inverness Caledonian Thistle defender, was scathing of FC Astra as they consigned his team’s European ambitions to the dustbin.

The team from Giurgiu, though classy in flashes, toiled against John Hughes’ Highlanders and found the ball hard to win during the 0-0 second-leg stalemate that was enough for them to claim passage to the third qualifying round to face West Ham United.

Yet the away team’s aspirations foundered on a lack of cutting edge in attack, and Raven accused the Romanians of underhand gamesmanship that was often missed by Kazakhstani referee Artyom Kuchin.

Englishman Raven was left frustrated, believing they could have won the tussle.

“They were going down when they hadn’t been touched,” said the former Liverpool, Tranmere and Carlisle United right-back. “There was lots of it going on. I’m not bothered about that – it’s European football, isn’t it? But some of the tackles we were punished for wouldn’t have been a foul in Scotland. It’s just the way it is and we’ve got to learn from that. It was a good learning curve for the lads, good experience.”

The 30-year-old Raven has a wealth of experience since his early days as a coveted prospect under Rafa Benitez at Anfield. He is seasoned enough to know that such occasions as Thursday’s first foray to the continent for Caley Thistle are rare and must be cherished. Still, he was annoyed at the manner of their defeat.

“As I said to a couple of the lads, if I’d done what a few of those players did and my old fella was watching, I’d get it in the neck,” said Raven. “I’d feel embarrassed behaving like that and my dad would be on the blower saying, ‘What’re you doing rolling around like that’. I think the rest of the boys would be the same and that’s the difference in the culture between here and back home. It was a really tough match, physically, given the temperature on the night.

“It is just so disappointing we have gone out. More than anything, I’m disappointed for the fans who spent all that money to travel over. It was a tremendous support behind us. I was blown away by how good it was. For them to have come this far in those numbers just shows what it means to them and I was disappointed we couldn’t deliver the result.

“If you step back and look at it, though, we acquitted ourselves well over the two legs. It is just disappointing to be undone by one free-kick.”

Caley Thistle now prepare for the domestic season in the intimidating shadow of their own high endeavour last term. Finishing third in the league and winning the Scottish Cup amounted to a remarkable achievement for one of the most modestly funded clubs in Scotland’s top flight. It also sets the bar high in terms of expectation among their small, but passionate, support.

Raven, for one, retains the same hunger to succeed that characterised John Hughes’ squad last season, with his ambitions not in the slightest bit sated by success.

“If we could do it again and qualify for Europe next year, it would be unbelievable and that’s what we’ll try to do,” Raven said. “The hunger is still there. We have a taste for it now.

“Replicating last year is going to be nigh-on impossible, we have to be honest, with the resources we have and the players we’ve lost. But we’re going to give it a good crack because the lads have a taste for it. Cup finals and experiences like this [in Europe] are what it is about.”

Raven acknowledged there was validity in concerns that Inverness have failed to replace key personnel snatched away from them during and since that memorable season. Players of the calibre of Marley Watkins, Graeme Shinnie and Billy Mckay have left and a paucity of options for manager Hughes was exposed amid injury woes on Thursday. With new attacking signing Jordan Roberts joining Carl Tremarco and James Vincent on the treatment table, Hughes was even one short on the substitutes’ bench for the Romanian leg.

“Of course we need some faces in,” Raven said. “We had to shift players about out of position and I was playing left-back against Astra. I was happy to do that, but it just shows how short we are. So we need to look after ourselves and hopefully, come January/February, everyone is still fit. Obviously, you need a good start, but at the business end of the season we need everyone firing at their best.”