Dean Campbell had a watching brief in his first Hampden Park game as Aberdeen lost out to Motherwell in the Scottish Cup semi-finals.
The 17-year-old now wants to go one better and lead the Dons under-20s side to victory in the Scottish FA Youth Cup final against Hibernian tonight.
Suspensions to Kenny McLean and Graeme Shinnie handed Campbell – the club’s youngest debutant at 16 – a spot on the bench for the last-four tie. It was not to be for the senior side, going down to a disappointing 3-0 defeat.
But for the under-20s captain, he has the chance to have a more direct influence on tonight’s push for silverware.
Campbell said: “It was a fantastic experience to be on the bench at Hampden but obviously really disappointing that we didn’t win that game. It was a big moment for me just to be asked down to be a member of the squad as I’ve grown up a big Aberdeen fan.
“I’ve travelled down to Hampden on many an occasion down the years to watch them in semi-finals and finals. But to be involved in one with the first team, given the history of the Scottish Cup, was a fantastic experience as it gives me confidence to want to go on and do it more.
“Of course sitting there watching the defeat took the edge off things but it will be great to go back and actually play on that pitch in this final. If I can play the whole game and hopefully lift the trophy at the end of it would be a great experience for me, my family and the whole team.”
Campbell was named skipper this season by under-20s coach Paul Sheerin due to his impressive maturity. When he made his senior debut against Celtic in May 2017, he was a month past his 16th birthday and had sat an English exam at Hazlehead Academy earlier in the day.
He has already had a taste of first-team action and believes the chance is there to push on and become more regular fixtures in Derek McInnes’ squad.
Campbell said: “The goal for us is to make the first team but young players need the experience of winning trophies at a youth level to give us the competitive edge we need to go forward. We feel it is our time to win it and are ready to go.
“Scott McKenna was playing alongside us in the under-20s team at the start of the season and he wouldn’t have dreamed where he is now back then. He’s a regular in the team now and made his international debut for Scotland last month and was man of the match in those games.
“It’s a huge confidence boost that if we do perform then we know that we are going to get our chance at a higher level with Aberdeen. For a club like Aberdeen it’s been a long time since we made the youth cup final but you see the impact some of the players that got there in the past with the club went on to make.”