Under-fire Neil McCann lambasted his Kilmarnock side for “letting themselves down massively” after they squandered the chance to reach the Premier Sports Cup semi-final by losing on penalties to 10-man Aberdeen.
After failing to win any of their opening five William Hill Premiership matches, Killie’s dire start to the season continued as they were unable to get the better of the Dons despite playing more than an hour with an extra man following Daniel Happe’s 57th-minute red card.
Aberdeen led through Kevin Nisbet’s 52nd-minute header but the quarter-final seemed to have swung in the hosts’ favour when substitute Tyreece John-Jules nodded them level at 1-1 seconds after Happe was shown his second yellow card for a foul on Joe Hugill.
Killie were unable to make the extra man count thereafter and they paid the penalty in the shootout as Dons keeper Marius Muller saved three spot-kicks from John-Jules, Mark O’Hara and Aaron Tshibola, paving the way for Jack Milne to seal a 3-1 shootout triumph for the visitors.
Boos rained down from the home support at the end and McCann accused his players of not taking enough responsibility after the red card.
“It’s a very cruel way to lose a game, but with the extra man, the biggest disappointment for me right now is that we didn’t do enough with that,” he said.
“We had a golden opportunity to go to the semi-final tonight and we didn’t do it.
“Psychologically, the boys will be really, really down, and I really hope they are. Because I am and all our fans and everybody at this club are hurt with the opportunity missed.
“They’ve let themselves down massively there. Semi-finals don’t come around that often.
“I had a real go in the second period of extra time because I felt it was flat. It was almost as if they were waiting on someone else to take the responsibility to get us there.
“There was no spark, and that’s something that I can’t give them from the side. So, aye, they’ve probably got a long night ahead of them.”
As the pressure increased on McCann, it eased on Dons boss Stephen Robinson, who was able to enjoy a much-needed triumph after four league games without a goal.
“They showed what we see in training,” said Robinson, who won the Premier Sports Cup while in charge of St Mirren last season. “They showed to a man their character and quality and that they can take tactical information on board.
“Sometimes you need catalysts during a season. It was always going to take time but hopefully we can kick on from here.”
Robinson, who praised keeper Muller for his “excellent” contribution, said of Ayoub Mouloua’s audacious Panenka-style penalty in the shootout: “He’s very lucky he scored!
“He showed great composure. He’s still adjusting to Scottish football, the language and culture so we’re delighted for him. Anyone who stands up and takes a penalty, I admire.”
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