Heartbroken Hayes sees summer of sadness
JONNY HAYES concedes he will be haunted throughout the entire summer by the missed opportunity that turned a dramatic Scottish Cup final on its head.
With Aberdeen’s tails up following an excellent firsthalf display, the Irishman dispossessed Callum McGregor on the right to progress to the edge of the Celtic area and spot Kenny McLean in space on the left.
His pass lacked conviction, though. McLean could also have applied the brakes a little. As it was, he ran just a little too far forward, Hayes put the ball behind him and it squirmed out from under his boot with the goal gaping.
Celtic gradually began to turn the screw as the huge levels of effort expended by Derek McInnes’ well-drilled side took their toll and Hayes, already struggling with a hamstring pull, had his pain made even sharper in stoppage time when Tom Rogic scored the winner.
‘When you go through twoon-one like we did, your eyes light up,’ said Hayes. ‘To be honest, Scott Brown did well in holding his position, so I don’t think I could have played it anywhere else.
‘I haven’t seen it back yet, but I think I should have done better. I could even have taken the shot on myself.
‘It’s something that will probably stick with me for the rest of the summer. It’s a tough one to take.
‘You will look back and think about it. When you lose like we did, it has a lasting effect on you.
‘It was a real kick in the teeth to lose a goal so late. I am just looking forward to going away on international duty next week to kind of take my mind off it.’
Dons skipper Graeme Shinnie insists Aberdeen will use their heartbreak as a source of motivation in the bid to bring silverware back to the Granite City next season.
Insisting that McInnes will remain in charge despite speculation linking him with the manager’s position at Sunderland, Shinnie believes the cruel nature of yesterday’s defeat can emerge as a driving force for next season.
He said: ‘The way we played today, having Celtic rattled at points, proves that we are the team to challenge them.
‘Naturally, everyone was gutted in the dressing room. You could see that when we were on the pitch after the game. But we have to try to reflect on the season and realise it has been a good one for us. It’s just a hard way to end it.’
Of his manager, Shinnie added: ‘His whole focus is here. He’s done a remarkable job rebuilding the club from where they were when he took over to where we are now, and he’ll just keep looking to build on that.
‘We’re keeping the core of the team. I have all the faith in the manager to replace the people who are leaving with quality and we’ll go again in June.’