Shinnie left speechless in bid to join Dons icons
THROUGHOUT the storied history of Aberdeen, only four men have been able to bear witness to the emotion involved in lifting the Scottish Cup as skipper of the club.
While Frank Dunlop, Martin Buchan, Willie Miller and Alex McLeish remain the sum total of winning captains to date, Graeme Shinnie has spent the past two years as the elusive answer to many a pub quiz question.
The midfielder arrived at Pittodrie two years ago fresh from fulfilling the dream of every Scottish schoolboy with Inverness Caley Thistle. Images of him lifting the trophy after a 2-1 win over Falkirk have played out in his mind ever since.
As he met the media this week, the man who will captain the Dons today faced a barrage of questions on a variety of matters.
On the matter of the sensation of lifting the oldest football trophy in the world, he still finds that there aren’t the adequate words.
‘Winning silverware is the best feeling in football,’ he said. ‘If you could bottle up that feeling, you’d make millions off it.
‘It’s hard to describe, but the feeling when James Vincent scored the winner for Caley was incredible. It was relief that we’d been a goal up, lost a goal and then lost a man — then it was joy.
‘It was an unbelievable feeling and the celebrations were brilliant. Everyone wants that.’
Presently, at least, he has few material reminders of what transpired that day. His impending switch to his home-town team was an open secret. The shirt he wore was then signed, bagged and sent to be framed.
For reasons Shinnie cannot fathom, he’s yet to uplift it. As today’s game approached, he opted to keep it that way.
‘My strip from that final has been in a shop in Aberdeen for two years,’ said Shinnie. ‘I wanted it framed and Ryan Esson knows someone, so I sent it to him but I haven’t picked it up yet.
‘Hopefully, I’ll be going to him with another one. There isn’t any reason I haven’t picked it up, I’ve just never got round to it.
‘I really need to go in. Hopefully, I’ll be heading there next week. I’d probably be superstitious and leave it there for two years just to see what happens.’
You could forgive Shinnie and his team-mates almost any such act as they set about becoming the first Dons side in 27 years to win the old trophy today.
That they have been the secondbest side in Scotland this season, and accordingly worthy of a cup final place, is beyond all debate.
Equally, the barren return from five games with Celtic tends to justify the odds against them.
Within the wreckage of an aggregate score of 12-2 lies kernels of hope. Three goals down earlier this month, the Dons rallied and troubled Brendan Rodgers’ side to an extent that they happened upon a formula which might work.
By getting the ball from middle to front in minimal time, they worried their opponents to an extent rarely witnessed this season.
‘We have got so far against Celtic but have lost every one,’ said Shinnie. ‘The last one, we started badly and you can’t lose three goals early against them.
‘But I felt there were positives to take. We had them rattled and who knows what would have happened if we got another goal.
‘It irks us that we haven’t beaten Celtic this season but we have another chance and it could be a historic season if we do.
‘It has been a long time since this club won the Scottish Cup, everyone here is aware of that. It’s going to be a massive task but I feel like if anyone can beat Celtic this season, it will be us.’
Stopping Celtic playing, a matter the Dons’ failed to address in a one-sided League Cup final in November, will form a cornerstone of the game plan.
As Shinnie can testify, though, football’s enduring attraction is it’s propensity to occasionally let the underdog have its day.
‘I would never think far ahead enough to think about lifting the trophy,’ he insisted.
‘The League Cup final was really disappointing because we know we’re so much better than that.
‘But that’s in the past. All we can do is use it to fuel the energy, hunger and drive this weekend.’