Defender Jack MacKenzie insists Aberdeen are still haunted by the humiliating Scottish Cup exit to sixth-tier minnows Darvel.
Which is why the Dons will not underestimate the threat of League One Stirling Albion in the Viaplay Cup second round on Friday.
Aberdeen suffered the most embarrassing defeat in the club’s 120-year history when crashing 1-0 to part-timers Darvel in January.
MacKenzie admits the shameful Scottish Cup fourth round exit is still raw for the Reds.
He reckons it offers devastating proof Premiership clubs can’t “rock up” to games against lower-league opposition and expect to win.
Shock troops Stirling Albion stunned top-flight St Johnstone 4-0 away in the group stages of the League Cup.
MacKenzie warned the Dons will have to show the same fight against Stirling as they did in the 3-1 loss to Celtic on Sunday.
He said: “The Darvel game in January is still a bit raw for the club.
“It was a horrendous night.
“We are under no illusions as to what we are going to face against Stirling.
“We have also seen how well Stirling have done in the League Cup – going to St Johnstone and battering them.
“It will be a tough game, we know that, so we will need to play the same against Stirling as we did Celtic.
“We need to bring that same fight.”
‘You can’t rock up and expect to win’
Aberdeen’s loss at West of Scotland League Premier Division club Darvel was arguably the biggest upset in Scottish Cup history.
Jordan Kirkpatrick’s goal in the 19th minute sank the Dons.
MacKenzie was absent from that cup shocker as he was ruled out by injury.
Asked if that defeat was still in players’ minds, he said: “I would say so and I think that is a good thing because it needs to be there.
“You can’t rock up to these places and expect to win because we are a Premiership team.
“Stirling will fight and we need to match that along with our ability to win.”
‘We tried to go toe-to-toe with Celtic’
Left-back Mackenzie has started Aberdeen’s two Premiership games this term on the left of a back-three.
Centre-backs Angus MacDonald and Rhys Williams, on loan from Liverpool, have both been out injured.
MacDonald returned to training this week having missed the whole summer with a knee injury.
MacKenzie was frustrated the Dons did not get any reward for going “toe-to-toe” against Premiership champions Celtic.
He said: “We put a lot into it and tried to go toe-to-toe with Celtic.
“In the end, we lost three poor goals and lost the game.
“You are always disappointed after losing.
“They are a top team and have been the champions the last couple of seasons.
“Celtic have top players at the top end and we needed to deal with them a bit better.
“When you look at the goals, they were avoidable.
“We had plenty of chances up the other end and we probably need to be more clinical as well.
“We felt we had shaken Celtic up little bit.
“However, once Celtic got that third goal, you could see that settled them down and we couldn’t get back in.”
Support for Devlin after costly error
Aberdeen levelled through a Bojan Miovski strike and were in the ascendency at 1-1.
However, Celtic punished a misjudged header by Nicky Devlin soon after when Kyogo Furuhashi fired home to make it 2-1.
MacKenzie praised Devlin for refusing to let that mistake derail his performance – and insists the young players view him as a role model.
He said: “To give a goal like that away, some players would go into their shell, but Nicky didn’t.
“He was excellent after that, which shows a good mentality.
“Nicky cleared one off the line and he produced some great defending.
“He has a lot of experience in this league and is one of the older ones.
“Nicky has been excellent and the younger boys look up to him.”
“The timing of the second goal – the fans were up and we felt they were there for the taking.
“We couldn’t get the second goal, which was disappointing.”
MacKenzie says the Dons players have all rallied in support of Devlin after his costly mistake.
It was former Livingston captain Devlin’s Pittodrie debut, after he arrived in the summer window on a two-year contract.
🗣️ "Disaster for Devlin…a gift for Celtic!"
Kyogo takes advantage of an Aberdeen mistake and gives Celtic a 2-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/7d3RvqtKxW
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 13, 2023
MacKenzie said: “We are a really tight group and support each other.
“We are all going to make mistakes and it is about getting them going again.”
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