Summer signing Gavin Molloy is using cup final heartache to fuel his silverware dream with Aberdeen.
Centre-back Molloy is set to face Queen’s Park at Pittodrie on Saturday in the League Cup.
Signed from Irish club Shelbourne, the 22-year-old has only played in one final as a senior player.
The defender started in Shelbourne’s 4-0 loss to Derry City in the FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, in front of a 35,000 crowd.
Finishing a cup runner-up does not register with Molloy, he only wants to lift trophies.
Which is why he has no idea where his FAI Cup runners-up medal is.
Malloy hopes to secure a cup winner’s medal with Aberdeen at Hampden this season, but accepts Queen’s Park are out to end that dream.
He said: “I only played two full seasons in Ireland, but I got to the cup final in one of them.
“We played Derry City in the final and lost, then the next season we got knocked out in the first round.
“So that just shows you what can happen in cup football – going all the all the way to the final one season and losing at the first hurdle the next.
“I don’t know what happened to my runners-up medal as it doesn’t mean much when you get beat.
“It was a really good day for Irish football, because it’s in the national stadium in Dublin in front of big crowds.
“So it’s a great occasion, but when your performance isn’t up to scratch it’s one you want to forget.
“It’s just whetted my appetite to get to more cup finals with Aberdeen and win one.”
The lure of potential cup success
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin secured Molloy on a three-year deal from League of Ireland Premier Division club Shelbourne.
The defender had signed a new contract with Shelbourne in February tying him to the Dublin-based club until the end of the 2025 campaign.
However, Molloy had a clause in his contract which allowed a transfer overseas, and Aberdeen triggered it to sign the defender.
It is understood the clause was in the region of £75,000.
Last season Aberdeen reached the final of the League Cup, losing 1-0 to Rangers.
Molloy admits the potential to star in finals and win silverware was a contributing factor in choosing to sign for the Dons.
He said: “Last year they got to the final and played in big games against big teams.
“This club wants to do well in cup competitions.
“The chance of that was an attraction.”
Thelin’s faith in defender Molloy
Aberdeen manager Thelin has won all six of his matches since taking on the Pittodrie hot-seat this summer.
Molloy has started every game in the winning start to the campaign.
He said: “It’s been great as starting off I wasn’t sure if I would be straight in the team or not.
“But I’ve played every minute so far and I’m just trying to take every game as it comes.
“I’m happy with my start and some of our wins have been really good.
“I think I have settled in here really well and really quickly.
“I’ve just done my best to help the team.
“Some of my performances have been good and some I can learn from.
“I’m still learning, still young and ready to kick on.”
Studying Queen’s Park threat
Championship Queen’s Park stand between Aberdeen and a place in the League Cup quarter-finals.
Aberdeen may have raced to a winning start to the season – but Molloy points to their group stage clash against Airdrie for reason not to take anything for granted.
The Reds trailed Championship Airdrie 1-0 at half-time before fighting back to win 2-1.
Molloy said: “Queen’s Park will be tough as we’ve watched clips of them this week and they look a very good team.
“We know that even though they’re in the league below us, they’ll bring a real quality to their play.
“We saw from the Airdrie game at Pittodrie in the group stage that they controlled big parts of the game.
“That was a big surprise to me because I hadn’t been in Scotland that long and I wasn’t sure how good other leagues were.
“Airdrie certainly had a lot of quality and it’s a warning about what to expect from Queen’s Park.
“But we are expected to win, and if we can show the quality we’ve produced this season, we’ll get through.”
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