Joe Newell rues Hibs problem multiple managers have failed to solve as Aberdeen FC smash and grab leaves its mark

Joe Newell reckons Aberdeen did a Viaplay Cup semi-final job on Hibs and they have to learn a painful lesson from it.

The Easter Road side were the better team at Hampden but failed to take their chances and then lost the only goal of the game after their opponents had gone down to 10 men. Newell is well aware that Hibs need to be more streetwise if they end up in situations like this again going forward.

The midfielder stated: “They were already getting back in their shape anyway, soaking up pressure, with 11 men. So with 10 men it’s obviously really hard to break them down. But we need to look at that because it’s happened before, under previous managers, a few times. We’ve gone a man up and it hasn’t worked out for us. Again, without looking back at the goal, I claimed for a foul initially. I don’t know.

“If it’s not a foul, then it’s naïve of us to concede a counterattack goal with a man up. The ref said he checked for a foul. I was asking him and he said there was no foul.

“So, yeah, especially in such a high stakes game, at nil-nil and with so much on the line. You can call it being street smart, whatever. But it’s something we need to look at as a team.”

Newell believes the hurt should be used as fuel to motivate this Hibs team moving forward. He explained: “Yeah, maybe. You can draw on it when you look at the game and how you can improve.

“The coaching staff and the manager, analysis-wise are amazing, probably the best I’ve seen in terms of debriefs and preparation for games, the way they see it panning out.

“In terms of learning from it – what we can do better physically and tactically – we’ll be spot on with that. Emotionally, I think everyone has to remember the next time we’re here, how much it does hurt