Matty Kennedy believes Aberdeen deserved more after their hopes of reaching the League Cup final were ended by Rangers at Hampden.
Bojan Miovski put Aberdeen ahead, but Dons skipper Anthony Stewart was sent off in injury time of normal time as his side lost 2-1 in extra-time at Hampden.
For Kennedy, the pain of defeat was etched on his face.
He said: “It was a tough one to take.
“The gaffer put out the game plan and it did work. At the end of the day we know Rangers are going to get a lot of the ball and we tried to limit them as much as we could.
“The red card totally changes it and the game. We tried to get it to penalties with 10 men, but every man should be proud of themselves.
“Against Rangers, you need 11 men on the pitch.
“It is hard when you go down to 10, but I think the fans can be proud of what we put into the game and how much we tried to win the game. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it.
“All the staff and everybody worked hard. We deserved more, but we got beat and it was hard.”
Stewart will recover from red card misery
Dons midfielder Graeme Shinnie says Stewart will be supported by his team-mates, and Kennedy has backed his captain to bounce back from his semi-final heartache.
He said: “I’ve not spoken to him, but he is a good lad and a leader.
“It is part and parcel of football when you miss a tackle.
“Anthony is one of our key players and has been brilliant for us. He is a key player for us and he will be back stronger.”
Dons aim to respond in midweek trip to Hearts
The Dons were dejected as they departed Hampden, but Kennedy knows there is little time to wallow in defeat as Jim Goodwin’s side bid to regroup ahead of their trip to Edinburgh on Wednesday to face Hearts in the Premiership.
The Jambos are six points clear of the Dons, who have dropped to fifth in the table, and Kennedy knows it is important Aberdeen bounce back.
He said: “It is a big game. We need to dust ourselves down and try to recover.
“We need to get Wednesday and look to put it right then.
“As a footballer, I am 28 now and I am used to winning some and losing some. You look forward to the next game.
“You dust yourself down, put the defeat behind you and go again.
“We have a lot of games coming up and it is something you look forward to. No matter if you have a defeat, you want a quick turnover.
“Hopefully, we can put that right and put some points on the board.”
