Aberdeen were outclassed by Celtic at Hampden as they were sent back down to earth after a phenomenal start to the season.
The Dons were three down by half-time in their Premier Sports Cup semi-final and went on to concede the same amount in the second half as they ended up on the end of a tanking.
Practically flawless this season before yesterday, manager Jimmy Thelin has admitted the game got away from Aberdeen as he looks for a response.
The manager has been praised for his attacking style and desire to go toe-to-toe with teams so far, but the approach came unstuck for the first time yesterday.
Jimmy Thelin ‘naive’ Aberdeen tactics criticised
Thelin set his Dons side up in an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation with Duk and Topi Keskinen in wide areas and Jamie McGrath playing as a 10 behind striker Ester Sokler.
On the big Hampden pitch, Celtic had room in which to play and proceeded to do that while racking up a comfortable scoreline.
Aberdeen legend Willie Miller was critical of the way his beloved club lined up as they were far too open.
The former defender reckons the two wingers weren’t contributing in an attacking sense or a defensive one and that the gaps in behind left holding players Graeme Shinnie and Sivert Nilsen exposed.
Asked if it was “naive” from the boss, Miller told BBC Sportsound: “Yeah, I said that though. He’s not going to change. I was surprised that McGrath was playing in a forward position. I mean, he was always in contact with Sokler.
“Now, he wasn’t a threat because Aberdeen had no control of the ball. Okay, McGrath had to take care of trying to get close to (Callum) McGregor as well, which is a really difficult task.
“But when Aberdeen had the ball and they didn’t have it on too many occasions, then he [McGrath] was up towards Sokler.
“So you had the two wide players, who for me did nothing in the game. So if you’ve got the two wide players playing wide and not really threatening, then all you can expect is that the ball is going to keep coming back.
“You’ve got McGrath who barely touched the ball in the first half, and Sokler was doing nothing. It wasn’t as if that high press was working because the back four were too deep.
“So you’ve got a huge gap between the two centre midfield players and the four forward Aberdeen players that Celtic just constantly exploited.”
Aberdeen’s Nicky Devlin struggles against Daizen Maeda
Celtic forward Daizen Maeda won the man-of-the-match award after bagging a hat-trick. Aberdeen right-back Nicky Devlin struggled to cope with an explosive performance.
Devlin was praised this week for an “immense” display against Rangers as a pundit described how the Scotland cap epitomises Thelin’s Dons side.
But Miller singled the full-back out for criticism for his defensive display yesterday.
He added: “I think defensively Nicky Devlin against Maeda on a number of occasions, Maeda is playing on the shoulder and on the blindside and Nicky is not picking him up.
“He’s not aware he’s there. Even though they’re simple goals he scored, he’s got to be aware of where your opponent is.”