Aberdeen FC fuelled by Darvel disaster as Jack MacKenzie reveals Dons out to put it right against Stirling

Fired-up Jack MacKenzie insists Aberdeen’s disaster in Darvel will drive them on to ensure there is no shock in Stirling on Friday night.

The Dons take on the League One outfit in their first cup appearance since the worst result in their history, losing to the West of Scotland side in the Scottish Cup back in January. A lot has changed in that time. Barry Robson has replaced Jim Goodwin as manager, plenty of players have moved on and Aberdeen’s fortunes are now very much on an upward trajectory.

MacKenzie was part of the Dons team that hit rock-bottom in Ayrshire and reckons Stirling will also fancy their chances, having taken out top-flight St Johnstone in the group stage. But the defender is confident of avoiding another shock this time if Aberdeen repeat the battling performance they showed in defeat to Celtic at the weekend.

He said: “We are under no illusions as to what we are going to face. The Darvel game in January is still a bit raw for the club. But that’s a good thing because it needs to be there. It was a horrendous night. You can’t rock up to these places and expect to win because we are a Premier League team. They will fight and we need to match that along with our ability to win.

“We have also seen how well Stirling have done in the League Cup, going to St Johnstone and battering them. We know it will be a tough game and we will need to bring that fight whether we are playing Celtic or Stirling.”

The Dons earned a lot of plaudits on Sunday but it was the Hoops who took the points.

MacKenzie believes there were spells when they had the champions rattled but soft goals led to their undoing. He admitted: “Celtic are a top team and have been the champions the last couple of seasons. They have top players at