Defiant Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes said he is looking for his team to bounce back from this afternoon’s Hampden disappointment to end the season on a high.
The Dons went 1-0 ahead thanks to new boy Donervon Daniels’s goal at the start of the second half, however, United hit back with Callum Morris netting in the 60th minute before Nadir Ciftci netted an 84th minute winner.
Shortly after the game McInnes told the P&J: “It has been a poor day for us, a missed opportunity for us, I didn’t think we were good enough for the majority of the game.
“The response now has got to be there, there is no other thing for it. We owe that to ourselves and we owe it to the club to go the full way and try to finish the season as strongly as possible.
“We know the cups give us a real opportunity to be successful and we thought we could be again this season in the League Cup but there is still a lot to play for and we have got to make sure we are motivated to go right to the end.”
Although McInnes didn’t think there was much in the match, he felt his defence was the only part of the team to perform to their potential, the Dons boss continued: “I thought my back four were good enough, I thought they were excellent throughout. Normally in open-play United carry that threat but I thought we really snuffed them out and nullified that.
“My back four concentrated and were excellent but I thought we just didn’t have enough ahead of that to really be comfortable at any time of the game.
“I thought it was nip-and-tuck, I didn’t think there was a lot in it but United got their second goal and we didn’t.
“We wish them well because I think they are a good side and I think my team are better than what they showed today.”
That back four included goalscorer Daniels and McInnes reserved special praise for him, adding: “I thought he (Daniels) was excellent. I think that has got to be recognised that even though he was part of a losing team I thought he was outstanding from first minute to last.
“I was always confident because he is someone who we have monitored for a while and having watched him this week I always felt that if he played the way he has trained then he would be fine.
“I think he showed he is going to be a good player for us and I thought he was excellent throughout the game, as were the rest of the back four, I thought they were very dominant throughout and they had to be against a decent front three or four of Dundee United.”