'Sobering semi-final provides Thelin with food for thought'

Saturday's League Cup semi-final humbling at the hands of Celtic was a sobering reality check for the Aberdeen supporters. The Dons players had them dreaming of a quick-fire trophy under Jimmy Thelin after their record-breaking run during the infancy of the Swede's tenure.

Thelin won't want to dwell on the match for too long and will rather focus on getting the train back on the tracks, starting with the visit of Dundee to Pittodrie this weekend.

There were several factors that contributed to what culminated in an ultimately embarrassing, record Hampden Park defeat for Aberdeen. The first being the fact that the three goals Celtic scored in an 11-minute spell from around the half hour mark were all cheaply conceded. It was a punishing 11 minutes and it destroyed the Dons' hopes of a return to the League Cup final before half-time.

You then look at the two sides' matches last midweek where Brendan Rodgers was afforded the luxury of rotating some of his squad for their game at home to Dundee while Aberdeen were beating Rangers with everything that goes with that fixture. Thelin started the same XI at the national stadium and they looked leggy and didn't get near the levels they got to in the second half at Celtic Park just a fortnight before.

Celtic were utterly ruthless. They actually had fewer shots at goal in the semi than they did in the 2-2 draw and everything seemed to go in for the champions.

Captain Callum McGregor and in-form winger Nicolas Kuhn also returned from injury for the semi and with his team easing through to the showpiece, Rodgers made second half changes with £9 million striker Adam Idah and £3.5 million midfielder Paulo Bernardo entering the fray alongside Liam Scales who has been a first choice for the last 15 months. It again underlined just how far ahead Celtic are domestically and they perhaps felt they had a point to prove having surrendered a 2-0 lead against the same opponents in that recent league match.

However, it gives Thelin something to aim for and food for thought.

Before Saturday, Aberdeen's season has been magnificent. The semi-final saw them lose a game from open play for the first time since mid-March and they have chiselled open a nine point gap on third-placed Rangers. They have a lot to be pleased with and positive about.

But, this is the first moment of adversity for Thelin and he has away games at St Mirren, Hibernian and Hearts to come after the Dundee game with another clash with Celtic on the other side.

It will be interesting to see if they can recover quickly from their blip on Glasgow's south side.