GLASGOW – A crestfallen Callum McGregor, captain of Celtic, yesterday described the Scottish Cup final defeat to Aberdeen as his “worst moment in football,” as the Hoops’ historic treble bid ended in tears at Hampden Park. The Dons clinched the coveted trophy with a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout victory after the match remained deadlocked at 1-1 following extra time.
McGregor, who has tasted only success in 13 previous Hampden finals, was visibly inconsolable after his initial penalty miss set a grim tone for Celtic. His shot, aimed to the right, was expertly saved by Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, who later denied Alistair Johnston to seal the stunning upset. The defeat crushed Celtic’s hopes of securing yet another domestic treble, a feat they have achieved multiple times in their illustrious history.
Despite his personal anguish, the outstanding skipper fronted up to reporters, offering a raw and honest assessment of the performance. “That’s the worst, I’ll just need to try and get away and get over it and come back next year and be stronger,” McGregor admitted, his voice still heavy with emotion. He conceded that Celtic, including manager Brendan Rodgers who also suffered his first Hampden final loss, simply “didn’t do enough in the game to deserve it.”
“When it gets to penalties anything can happen,” McGregor reflected. “In the past we’ve come out on the right side of it but today we didn’t. It’s a real sore way to finish the season.”
The midfielder, typically a pillar of consistency, acknowledged the deep impact of the loss. “It’s a tough moment, I’ve had tough moments before. Probably this the toughest one when you take everything into consideration,” he stated. However, he vowed to bounce back, demonstrating the resilience that has defined his career. “Once the new season starts, that’s up to me to show everyone I’ve got a bit of steel.”
McGregor emphasized the heightened pain of defeat for a club so accustomed to winning. “We’re so used to winning that when you don’t you feel it 10 times more. You really feel it more,” he explained. “It’s probably the worst moment I’ve had on the football pitch. And for sure there will be learning in that.”
Brendan Rodgers was seen comforting his captain on the pitch as Aberdeen celebrated their first major trophy in 35 years. McGregor revealed Rodgers’ words of encouragement: “He just said it can happen to anyone. It’s obviously a personal moment but the gist of it was he just told me to keep my head up, that I’d done so much for the club and had so much success.”
While Celtic remains a dominant force in Scottish football, having already secured the Premiership title and the Premier Sports Cup this season, the Cup final loss casts a shadow over what had been an otherwise stellar campaign. McGregor articulated this sentiment perfectly: “It’s the last day and it doesn’t go your way and the whole thing feels like it’s POINTLESS.”
He added, “That’s because it’s been so good, we’ve managed to get to these moments and get through them. But it’s just a wee reminder that you have to earn it – and we didn’t earn it today. We didn’t do enough in the top half of the pitch to really open them up and take the chances.”
Despite the immediate heartbreak, McGregor stressed the importance of learning from adversity. “Sometimes you have to go through a bit of adversity to grow and get better. We’re so used to winning, and maybe we’ve turned up the last couple of times and we’ve managed to get over the line without really deserving it. Maybe this was the one that came back to bite us,” he concluded, crediting Aberdeen for their resilience and well-deserved victory.
