Chris aiming to hit Dons with a Forrest show
Chris Cadden aims to take a leaf out of James Forrest’s book to help Motherwell secure their second cup final appearance of the season.
Celtic winger Forrest was superb in the Betfred Cup showpiece back in November, scoring the opener and generally making the most of Hampden’s expansive playing surface to torment the Steelmen’s defence.
Five months on, Cadden intends to try to take inspiration from that display as he seeks to tee up a return to the historic venue to meet either Celtic or Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final on May 19.
“I love Hampden,” said the 21-year-old ahead of Saturday’s semi- final against Aberdeen. “People give it a bit of stick, but I always relish playing there.
“It was brilliant in the 2-0 semi-final win over Rangers, and the Final was unbelievable, with Forrest obviously having a good day against us.
“I’ve watched it back now. It was a hard watch.
“Taking on Celtic is hard enough with 11 men, never mind 10, so getting Cedric Kipre sent off was tough and that was a big turning point in the game for me.
“I thought we were good up to half-time. Craig Gordon also had a great save and these things change games.
“But we went for it, tried to win and, as a young player, it was a great learning experience. Getting there just made me all the more hungry to get back again.
“You don’t want that to be your last final. You want to get back there and we will try to do that in the semi.”
Motherwell won’t be able to call upon the services of their Betfred Cup semi-final hero Louismoult this time, the Englishman having departed for Preston North End in the January transfer window.
Cadden, though, insists his team will have plenty of firepower to disrupt a Dons side which will be missing the suspended trio of Graeme Shinnie, Kenny Mclean and Shay Logan.
“Curtis Main has done really well since he came here, and Ryan Bowman has played well too,” he said.
“Against Rangers last week, for me Curtis was the best man on the field. He was unplayable. He bullied them. He has great strength and he has stepped up to the plate.
“But we will have to be better in the semi than we were at Fir Park in the league (won 2-0 by Aberdeen) because they are a good team with good players. We know that.
“Also, while we know they will have players missing with suspension, they have a good squad and will bring in decent players who will do a good job.”