LUKE McCOWAN tucked away a superb penalty-kick against Aberdeen at Hampden a week ago.
However, there were no celebrations for the 27-year-old Celtic midfielder following his first-ever Cup Final at Hampden after the champions toppled to defeat.
McCowan, Johnny Kenny and Daizen Maeda made no mistake from the spot in the shoot-out following the 1-1 extra-time draw, but, unfortunately, skipper Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnston saw tame attempts saved by Dimitar Mitov.
History books will show the Dons thumped their first four penalties beyond Kasper Schmeichel and there was no need for a fifth kick as they won 4-3 in a disappointing conclusion to a season for everyone with Celtic connections.
HAMPDEN HEARTACHE…Luke McCowan watches as Celtic colleague Yang Hyun-jun and Aberdeen skipper Graeme Shinnie tussle for possession in last week’s Scottish Cup Final disappointment.
The Hoops’ hopes of a sixth treble in nine years collapsed at the final hurdle, but McCowan insisted he still enjoyed his debut campaign at his boyhood favourites following his £1million August deadline-day arrival from Dundee.
The energetic middle-of-the-park performer missed out on the Premier Sports League Cup Final triumph over Rangers at Hampden in December after playing for the Tayside club in an earlier round in the competition thus making him ineligible for selection.
The season has been a learning curve for McCowan as he was acquainted with the standards that are demanded at Parkhead.
Brendan Rodgers tore into his players after the slipshod display in their 1-0 loss to relegated St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park last month before sealing their fourth successive title with a 5-0 victory over Dundee United at Tannadice three weeks later.
TAYSIDE TRIUMPH…Luke McCowan celebrates as Celtic seal their fourth successive title in the 5-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice last month.
Acknowledging the incessant demands on those wearing the green-and-white hoops, McCowan, who played in both games, said: “Callum McGregor speaks about it a lot when he’s doing press and I know the manager does.
“It’s about what’s expected of this club. You can’t drop standards because as soon as you do that and it becomes easy enough to drop a standard for one wee thing then it can become regular.
“The manager’s brilliant at it. Callum’s brilliant at it. James Forrest is brilliant at it.
“All the boys lead by example. They are amazing at setting these standards and knowing that, all right, you might win the league, but you’d better be at it in training the next day.
“I think when that’s the kind of level you’re at, it’s always about the next step.
“It’s always about pushing on and motivating yourself to go again.”
Next season, McCowan is likely to lock horns in the Glasgow derby with ex-Dens Park team-mate Lyall Cameron who agreed a pre-contract switch to Ibrox in February.
IN CONTROL…Luke McCowan directs traffic at Tannadice.
Asked if he had the chance to have a chat with his one-time midfield partner, the Greenock-born Celt, speaking to the Scottish Sun, answered: “I spoke to him when Dundee came to Celtic Park, just after he’d done it.
“I said: ‘Just to let you know, this will be the last time I speak to you!’.
“No, listen, Lyall is a good player. He’s done well.
“I saw him come through at Dundee when he was 19. I saw him go on loan to places that he probably wouldn’t have wanted to go to, but he just had to, so it’s a credit to him.”
The old friends’ act will be put to the test in the new campaign.
