After the Dons were beaten on penalties in the Scottish Cup semi-final, Stefan Gartenmann called on the side to use their heroic display as a stepping stone to better times.
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions. It looked like a lost game a few times, but it says a lot about the willpower in this team that we came back twice to level it. I think that is a good sign and hopefully we can bring that into next week, because it doesn’t take long until the focus is on that game.
“There wasn’t much left in the tank at the end there, on either side. We gave it all we could, physically, mentally, but the penalty shootout is a lottery, isn’t it? Killian is fine after having his penalty saved, nobody blames him for anything. He had the guts to step up and we all respect that, so he’s fine. He’s a confident lad and on Monday he’ll be fine again, he’s a very strong mentally.
“He’s a young player, but this will make him stronger going forward. It’s not very nice for him now, but he’ll learn from this. I’ve been in this situation and sometimes you think back on it, but these are also the moments that make a good player, because if you bounce back after something like this, that shows real strength mentally and I’m absolutely certain he’ll be back in no time.
“Overall, it was a crazy game. Our fans kept with us and that felt really nice, because there were a lot of Celtic fans here, but we heard our fans all the time, they made sure they were heard and we could feel them at all times that might have given us the edge at the end. I’m just sad we couldn’t finish it off and get the win for them.
“I think they were proud of us today, and we were proud to be Aberdeen players today. The Aberdeen fans showed that they’re special and that gave us the extra percentages at the end, so hopefully we’ll all bring that next week, and this will be a stepping stone for better days to come.
“I think at times we were on top of Celtic and they were feeling like we kept coming at them, it was getting to them. Of course there were periods where we had to drop back a bit and let them play, but I think we felt in control for long periods of the game. I think people watching this game could see that it is a really good team we have, but we cannot only show it at Hampden in the big game, we have to show it at home versus Motherwell, we have to show it away at Livingston, so tomorrow it’s all focus on Motherwell, because this doesn’t mean anything if we can’t bring it into next Saturday. We have to switch focus quickly and finish this season strong.”
