Aberdeen on Monday suffered a humiliating 1-0 defeat against sixth-tier minnows Darvel in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
The West of Scotland League Premier Division champions sprang one of the Scottish Cup’s greatest upsets thanks to Jordan Kirkpatrick’s first-half strike at Recreation Park.
Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen were denied three times by Darvel goalkeeper Chris Truesdale in the second half as the underdogs held on.
Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin is now under intense pressure after his team’s latest embarrassment, which came just days after a 5-0 defeat by Heart of Midlothian at Tynecastle.
The Ayrshire town of Darvel has a population of only 4,000 and there were about 3,500 fans crammed inside the club’s tiny stadium to witness the shock result.
“What an occasion for the club. I have believed in the guys all week. I have been drumming it into the team, they need to believe in themselves and trust each other,” Darvel manager Mick Kennedy said. “That is the culture at the club, the togetherness, love and respect, and we have driven that all week. When you believe in each other it is remarkable what you can achieve.”
Darvel never looked overawed and a deflected drive from Craig Truesdale tested Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis early on.
It was more good work from Truesdale which led to the winning goal in the 19th minute.
Aberdeen defender Hayden Coulson failed to properly clear Truesdale’s cross from the left and when the ball fell to Kirkpatrick, the midfielder’s shot on the turn took a deflection past Lewis.
Aberdeen teenager Ryan Duncan’s close-range shot went close to dragging the shell-shocked visitors level, but Darvel were proving resolute, with the visitors’ Luis Lopes denied from close-range before top-scorer Bojan Miovski had a 74th-minute effort ruled out for offside.
Darvel goalkeeper Truesdale made yet another great save at point-blank range from Lopes as Aberdeen succumbed to one of the worst nights in their history.
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