I was gutted after the semi-final... I went home and could barely sleep
SAYS SCOTT McKENNA
FoR eight months, Scott mcKenna felt like he could do no wrong. there was a first-team breakthrough. a new contract after aberdeen turned down Hull City’s bids to sign him. His first caps for Scotland. Followed swiftly by the captain’s armband for a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
the defensive error which led to a sleepless night of tossing and turning felt like the needle coming off the record. a stark realisation on the part of the 21-year-old that this football business might not be as straightforward as he hoped.
‘i was absolutely gutted,’ said mcKenna of the horrible mistake which gifted motherwell a decisive second goal in a 3-0 win to secure a meeting with Celtic in next month’s final.
‘it was a massive opportunity and we wasted it. and they don’t come along too often.
‘i was disappointed with the part i played in the second goal which probably killed the game off.
‘i was devastated at the time. i just went home and sat in my flat on my own and, to be honest, it played through my head all night. i could barely sleep.’
Failing to deal with a defensive header, mcKenna’s sliced clearance spun back towards his own goal to gift Ryan Bowman a goal at the second attempt.
‘i watched it back again — i watch every game back i play in, just to see what i could have done differently,’ added mcKenna. ‘i probably should swing my right foot at it and deal with it rather than go with my left because it just spirals up and causes problems which they scored from.
‘When i came back in on the monday morning, i just tried to put it behind me and focus on the training going into the next game.’
a year ago, mcKenna was on loan at ayr United in the Championship. taking his chance in the aberdeen first team in September, his rise bordered on the meteoric. learning to take the rough after the smooth, he admits, was a test.
‘it’s about handling criticism because there have been a lot of positives and it is one of the first times people have blamed me for a goal and i have blamed myself for letting the team down,’ he admitted. ‘Everyone around me at the club has been brilliant and
just told me to get on with it and try to keep my performance levels high for the rest of the season.
‘i am my biggest critic. other people tried to pick me up and tried not to make it as big a deal as it was — but in my head i knew that goal killed the game and gave us a mountain to climb.’
Filing how he felt for future reference, the disappointment of that day doesn’t have to define the defender’s season.
a nomination for the PFa Scotland Young Player of the Year award is a recognition of the strides made since he made his first-team breakthrough in a 1-0
win over motherwell in the league in September.
‘the season just seems to be getting better and better for me,’ he said. ‘this has been my first full season playing. From playing in the Under-20s at the start of the season, to getting a Scotland cap, to now have been nominated for Young Player of the Year, it has been excellent.
‘my ambition at the start of the season was to try and get into aberdeen’s first team and play five to ten games.
‘i’ve surpassed that and things have got better and better.
‘it makes it all the more special
when it’s boys who have been playing against you who have voted for you.
‘For them to think that my performances have been at a level to vote for me, i’m delighted with that.
‘there are a lot of other names who have had great seasons and could have been on the list.
‘So to be voted ahead of them is a massive achievement for me.’
Called into the Scotland squad for the recent friendlies against Costa Rica and Hungary, mcKenna wants to build on that recognition by making the trip with the national team to
Peru and mexico at the end of the season.
‘i’d love to be in that squad,’ he said. ‘i would be delighted if i was picked. there are older boys than me who have played a lot of games and could maybe do with a break. But if i get a chance like that, it’s something i would have to jump at.
‘You can’t be turning your country down. When we went away the last time, i was hoping to get on the pitch and get a cap.
‘So to start in both games and put in the performances i did, i was really pleased with the way it went.’