Dons show their battling qualities to give Stockley hope for Hampden

AS the mist continued to roll in on Pittodrie long after a 3-1 home defeat to their William Hill Scottish Cup final opponents, Jayden Stockley’s search for positives was not as grim as expected.

The striker admits Celtic’s whirlwind start — three goals in 11 minutes — had left his head spinning.

What Stockley was able to rationalise was Aberdeen’s best performance in five sore defeats this season to Celtic, an effort which drew recognition from a home support as the visitors celebrated.

Stockley, who was a Bournemouth player in March 2012 when Sheffield Wednesday rattled in three goals in the first ten minutes of a game, said: ‘The way we played the rest of the game is how we want to play.

‘We had intensity pushing from the midfield and, after losing three goals, we suddenly looked settled at the back.

‘But it was a shock to start as we did and that’s something we need to eradicate in positivity.

‘I’ve had exactly that experience before and it’s horrible because after every goal, you’re trying to galvanise the lads, saying: “Let’s stop this”.

‘We managed to do that and get a foothold but unfortunately, it was too late. We still had chances.

‘That’s probably the most chances we’ve had against them this season.

‘That is encouraging. We put them under some pressure and I think that they will remember a few of our guys.

‘Celtic have quality in abundance but we managed to just look at each other and galvanise. That’s the strength of the squad. We had to really. We didn’t want the match to turn into a joke.

‘We brought the game to them and I think Celtic will know that with a bit of luck on our side we could have got bang in that game.’