CELTIC 1 ABERDEEN 1 (aet; Dons win 4-3 on pens)
BRENDAN RODGERS sampled defeat in the Scottish Cup for the first time at Hampden this afternoon.
And the Celtic manager must wonder what went wrong as the chance of a glorious treble disappeared in an avalanche of howlers against an Aberdeen team that looked out of it with only seven minutes to go.
Kasper Schmeichel threw them a lifeline with a horrible own goal and the game eventually went to penalty-kicks.
On a day of calamity, Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnston saw their spot-kicks saved as the Dons made no mistake with their first four efforts and there was no requirement for a fifth kick on an afternoon to forget for the champions.
They watched in agony as the ideal opportunity of winning their sixth treble in nine years was buried under a rubble of mistakes.
Johnny Kenny, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda netted from the spot, but the drama ended abruptly when Johnston’s effort was too close to Dimitar Mitov.
Celtic can’t blame bad fortune for the outcome, but they could point to efforts from Arne Engels and Jeffrey Schlupp that clattered off the woodwork that would have seen the Cup heading back to Parkhead.
Maeda also had the opportunity to make certain of the domestic clean sweep three minutes into stoppage-time, but the Japanese ace, after running clear into the box, lost his composure at the crucial moment and allowed Mitov to deflect his drive clear.
The Player of the Year will know he should have bulged the net.
It looked as though the first-half story was going to be all about the Hoops having control without a killer touch before they took the lead in the 39th minute with a deflection.
The Hoops were winning a succession of corner-kicks on both flanks without success until Arne Engels swirled in one from the left wing.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, under pressure from Jack Milne, managed to get a head to the ball to direct it goalwards.
The effort took a nick off the shoulder of Alfie Dorrington to alter its direction path and it was enough to leave Mitov swatting fresh air as the ball nudged his left-hand post on its way into the net.
A tad fortuitous? Probably, but no one could deny Celtic were a due a goal following their dominance right from the kick-off.
RISE AND SHINE…the first goal is on its way as Cameron Carter-Vickers outjumps the Aberdeen defence.
The Dons, possibly still thinking of the 6-0 thrashing they took at the same venue in November and the 5-1 loss at Pittodrie more recently, set up with a safety-first outlook.
They were penned in throughout the opening 45 minutes and Schmeichel rarely saw the ball with his team-mates controlling possession in all areas of the field.
Maeda showed a glimpse of his pace when he accelerated away from his shadow Alexander Jensen onto a clever through pass from Greg Taylor, but his low cross was eventually scrambled clear.
Paulo Bernardo was working tirelessly in the middle of the park as he probed for an opening and he found a pocket of space in a crowded penalty area in the 26th minute to fire a shot at Mitov.
The effort was blocked by Nicky Devlin for a right-wing corner-kick, but Nicolas Kuhn’s delivery found no takers.
Two minutes later, the German winger drifted in from the right to pick out the unmarked Taylor about 25 yards out.
The full-back took a touch before thundering in a vicious left-foot drive that hurtled over Mitov’s outstretched glove, but also cleared the crossbar by a couple of feet.
Then came the breakthrough goal that won’t live long in the memory banks, but no one was complaining as Celtic took a one-goal advantage into the dressing room at the interval.
In the 64th minute, Arnie Engels was right out luck when he whipped in a low left-foot drive from the edge of the box that left Mitov helpless, but the ball smacked off the base of the right-hand post and rebounded to safety.
Two minutes later, Brendan Rodgers made his first changes as he sent on James Forrest, Luke McCowan and Yang Hyun-jun for Kuhn, Engels and Idah.
It was a surprise to see Engels go off when it looked obvious Bernardo was tiring big style. He was eventually replaced by Schlupp on 100 minutes.
The game turned on its head with just seven minutes to play after an astonishing blunder from Denmark’s legendary goalkeeper Schmeichel.
The ball was fed out to Shayden Morris on the right and the winger whipped in an angled cross that looked to be a simple pick up for the netminder.
Amazingly, his timing was all wrong as he went down to his right and he diverted the ball into his own goal to present the Pittodrie club with an equaliser.
It didn’t get much better for the veteran No.1 in the penalty-kick shoot-out as the Dons stuck four past him to create an almighty upset.
It was a day where Celtic just didn’t have enough guile or finishing to clear the final hurdle.
Rodgers will undoubtedly examine this performance and analyse the display of one or two of his players who just could not step up when it was required.
For the Celtic fans, they will have to be content with a double.
But we all know that Scottish Cup should be bedecked in green and white ribbons and back home in Paradise this evening.
TEAM: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Engels (sub: McCowan 66), McGregor, Bernardo (sub: Schlupp 100); Kuhn (sub: Forrest 66; sub: Kenny 96), Idah (sub: Yang 66), Maeda.
