Add November 2020 to the list of Aberdeen’s major cup defeats to Celtic.
This time it was supposed to be different. It was meant to be their time. “Best chance to beat Celtic” was used on more than one occasion.
But after December 2016, May 2017, December 2018 and April 2019, a familiar tale played out at Hampden Park once again.
There was little of the gut-punch nature about this one. There was no late heartbreak, no Tom Rogic stoppage-time goal to dash their trophy hopes.
Rogic was pivotal in their downfall again but this time from a more creative standpoint. He ran the show from the 10 position, beautifully setting up Mohamed Elyounoussi’s goal after Ryan Christie had majestically put Celtic in front in this belated Scottish Cup semi-final from the 2019-20 season.
The second half yielded little in the way of a fightback from the Dons, who nurse wounded pride from another Celtic defeat again.
McInnes made the call to start with Sam Cosgrove – his first in seven months – ahead of Ryan Edmondson and Jonny Hayes missed out altogether.
Matty Kennedy returned to the line-up, with he and Ryan Hedges deployed as aggressive wing-backs.
While the gamble to start Cosgrove teased promise early on, via a couple of headed opportunities, it did not yield any concrete returns for the Dons.
They had 18 minutes of parity before Christie produced a strike of genuine beauty, drifting off Kennedy and away from Ross McCrorie before curling a shot beyond a despairing Joe Lewis.
One became two when Rogic stood a delightful ball up to the back post, where Elyounoussi escaped the attentions of Andy Considine to crash into the roof of the net.
Celtic could now sit in cruise control for a while. The onus was now on Aberdeen to try and rescue anything from the game, while in the knowledge Celtic could exploit any gaps left in behind.
Scott Wright’s burst away from Nir Bitton provided brief hope at the start of the second half, but his cut-back was scuffed by Cosgrove straight at Scott Bain.
Amid a mass of bodies in the Celtic penalty area, Marley Watkins, Hedges and Greg Leigh all had pot-shots failed to trouble the Celtic goalkeeper, in while Tommie Hoban’s header was hopeful rather than harmful.
A fantastic strike from Ryan Christie gives @CelticFC the lead in the @WilliamHill Scottish Cup Semi-Final.#ScottishCuppic.twitter.com/EvQUtZmEQY
— William Hill Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) November 1, 2020
The introduction of Connor McLennan, who can consider himself unlucky not to have started, and Greg Leigh gave Aberdeen greater balance and freed Kennedy and Hedges from their defensive responsibilities.
Cosgrove was sacrificed too and even Watkins was sent limping for touch after a collision with Scott Brown. The hurdles were becoming too high to jump.
Ultimately there is little to shout about from another Hampden defeat, a fifth against Celtic in less than four years.
History has a painful way of repeating itself..