Aberdeen defender Ash Taylor has urged his side to take the positives from their display against champions Celtic and book their place in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.
The Dons produced their best display at Pittodrie this year but they had no points to show for their efforts at the end of a thrilling 90 minutes.
Taylor’s goal cancelled out Callum McGregor’s opener for Celtic at Pittodrie but with the home side pushing for a winner Kris Ajer’s strike 10 minutes from time gave the Hoops all three points at Pittodrie.
Taylor said: “We’ll take all the positives from this game, of which there are many, and look forward to Kilmarnock. That’s a massive game and we’ll go into that game full of confidence – we want to get to the next round.
“We could have taken more care in front of goal and taken more shots but it’s pleasing we are showing that side to our game again.”
The defeat was a cruel blow to the Dons and Taylor believes his side deserved more for their efforts.
He said: “We dominated for long spells and it was a very positive performance. We felt worthy of three points if not one.
“We have that belief and confidence in ourselves that things would turn and it was just about putting the ball in the back of the net, but I thought today we were spot on.
“It was a solid performance but Celtic find a way to win. They have done that for some time but it is disappointing we didn’t get the win.”
There may have been disappointment for the home side but the Aberdeen support, who have been restless and booed their team off following recent home displays, were quick to applaud their side’s efforts even in defeat.
Taylor believes it was important to get the fans back on side after a difficult start to 2020.
He said: “The fans saw a side that was determined to get the right result and all aspects of our game were positive. It was important the fans saw that.”
The Dons’ disappointment at losing a late goal was compounded by a knee injury to midfielder Funso Ojo, which ended his participation in the game.
Dons boss Derek McInnes hopes the Belgian’s absence is a short one.
He said: “Ojo has 15 stitches in his kneecap. He’ll miss Wednesday. It’s a really nasty deep cut on the bend where the knee is.
“He might make Ross County on Saturday, but he’s out for Wednesday.”