Joe Shaughnessy owes his teammates a good performance against Motherwell at Pittodrie today after his early dismissal against the Steelemen in October’s League Cup quarter-final.
The Irish defender was sent off after only 13 minutes when the sides last met at Fir Park, but late goals from Andrew Considine and Jonny Hayes ensured the Dons progressed to the final four of the competition.
The 21-year-old feared he had blown his side’s chance of reaching the semi-final but the 10 men produced a superb performance to defeat Stuart McCall’s side, much to the defender’s relief.
Shaughnessy was made to pay for the team’s supper on the way home from Motherwell as punishment for his sending off and is eager to avoid a repeat when the sides meet at Pittodrie today.
He said: “That red card cost me more than £100 to buy the boys fish and chips which was too much so I’ll make sure it won’t be happening again.
“But it could have been a lot more costly for the club so I was delighted we got the result to take us into the semi-finals of the cup.
“That’s what it’s all about in the knockout competitions, but I owe them and the manager a performance this time.
“After all, I was sent off with about 80 minutes to go so it was a huge relief I hadn’t cost us the tie.
“I watched the second half from the stand and with just 10 players it was one of the best performances of our season.
“When I was walking off the pitch I feared the worst, but that level of display must give us confidence for this match.
“Every time we play Motherwell it’s a tough game and they are coming back into a bit of form but our results are good against these leading teams.
“It’s disappointing to have lost against Hearts and Ross County when we have done so well against those around us.
“But if we can keep the level of performance we have had in the league recently we should do well this season.”
The Dons go into the match on the back of a thrilling 4-3 win against Caley Thistle in which they had led 4-0 at half-time, only for the Inverness side to almost conjure up a remarkable comeback in the second half.
Shaughnessy was unhappy with his side’s slack defending in the second half against John Hughes’s men and hopes for a more resolute performance this afternoon.
He added: “I was wondering what was happening in the second half at Inverness, but the important thing was we got the win.
“It’s not nice to lose three goals in any game, never mind in 45 minutes, especially after how well we had been doing.
“I don’t think we lost a single goal in the previous seven league wins and that’s the sort of form we are determined to get back to.
“That’s particularly important as Motherwell would go above us with a win and I expect them to be one of our main rivals for a European place.
“We have three important games coming up and really need to keep the momentum going.”