Gavin Molloy on the Irish cup pain that has fuelled fire for Premier Sports Cup glory with Aberdeen

Gavin Molloy has been a cup final loser in Ireland but hopes his move to Aberdeen can finally see the defender become a winner.

The Dons look to take a step closer to Hampden when they entertain Queen’s Park at Pittodrie in the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup. Molloy made it to the FAI Cup Final with Shelbourne but lost to Derry City 4-0 two years ago and now wants to go one better and lift silverware in Scotland. He said: “I only played two full seasons in Ireland but I got to the Cup Final in one of them. We got beat then the next season we got knocked out in the first round.

“So that just shows you what can happen in cup football, going all the way one season and falling at the first hurdle the next when we lost to Bohemians. A cup final’s a great occasion. It was a really good day for Irish football because it’s in the national stadium in Dublin in front of a big crowd.

“But when your performance isn’t up to scratch it’s one you want to forget. But it’s just whetted my appetite to get to more cup finals with Aberdeen and win one. They got to one last year and they want to play in big games against big teams so the chance of that was an attraction.”

Aberdeen came through the group stages with maximum points, although Airdrie caused them a few scares and Molloy knows they’ll need to be up for the latest Championship challenge. He said: “They’ll be tough. We’ve watched clips of them and they look a very good team.

“They’re in the league below but they’ll bring a real quality to their play. Airdrie certainly had a lot of quality and it’s a warning about what to expect from Queen’s Park.

“But we are expected to win and if we can show the quality we’ve produced this season we’ll get through. This club wants to do well