ABERDEEN were made to look like amateurs when they were humiliated by Hearts.
But, they plumbed new depths as they were dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Junior side Darvel.
The Dire Dons were utterly abysmal as they suffered the biggest ever shock in the competition’s 149-year history.
Darvel were immense with the ‘Lang Toon’ almost certainly ending the short reign of yet another Aberdeen boss.
Not for the first time the Pittodrie men folded like a cheap suit under pressure.
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Less than a week after their tame surrender at Tynecastle they succumbed to a team 56 places below them in the Scottish pyramid.
Jordan Kirkpatrick was one of so many heroes in blue, scoring the only goal of the tie after 19 minutes.
Dismissed as 33-1 no-hopers by the bookies Mick Kennedy’s team did the West of Scotland Premier League proud.
For most of an enthralling tie at Recreation Park they looked like the Premiership side.
And in front of a vociferous 3000 crowd they became the first non-league side to beat a top flight club since Elgin shocked Ayr back in 1966.
Jim Goodwin was desperately hoping to buy himself some much needed breathing space.
Yet losing to a sixth-tier club makes it almost impossible to see how the likeable Irishman survives this.
Aberdeen have no shortage of talent in their ranks but they have absolutely no backbone.
The Dons rolled up in East Ayrshire on the back of one victory in their last eight matches and five straight away losses.
This should have been a formality, Instead it is Darvel who will host Falkirk in the fifth round.
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The Dons handed a full debut to new signing Patrik Myslovic as they attempted to get their season back on track.
The Slovakian slotted into central midfield in the hope of giving the Dons some much needed bite.
Ryan Duncan was also given a rare start and the youngster was determined to make the most of it.
The 19-year-old was quickly into stride and immediately caused Darvel problems down the right flank.
Duncan came close to opening the scoring when he cut in from the wing and unleashed a swerving effort which fizzed just past the post.
The visitors were enjoying the bulk of possession but Darvel were content to soak up pressure and hit them on the counter.
Craig Truesdale was picking up good positions between the lines and had three decent efforts on goal inside the first 15 minutes.
On a pristine playing surface, which put the vast majority of senior teams to shame, the part-timers looked comfortable on the ball.
There was certainly no inferiority complex and with each passing second they were growing in confidence.
Truesdale was wreaking havoc yet Aberdeen did not heed the early warning signs.
They kept giving the Darvell attacker space and he duly punished them, playing a key part in the opener.
Aberdeen failed to deal with his clipped cross into the danger area with the ball dropping to Willie Robertson at the back post.
His effort back into the penalty box was collected brilliantly by Kirkpatrick, who spun and fired a low shot past Joe Lewis with the aid of a slight deflection.
Recreation Park was rocking and it was hard to argue that Kennedy’s side didn’t deserve the lead.
Now an Aberdeen outfit with fragile confidence were really up against it.
Every time they have conceded the first goal this season they have gone on to lose the game.
Goodwin was never one to shirk a challenge in his playing days so he must have been less than impressed by his team’s response.
Apart from Anthony Stewart heading a Duncan free-kick over the crossbar their immediate response was fairly feeble.
Roared on by a near 3000 crowd Darvel were able to see out the remainder of the half with relative ease.
Goodwin was now facing the most important half-time team talk of his managerial career.
His Darvel counterpart gave a stirring pre-match address so what could the Dons gaffer come up with?
He decided to throw top scorer Bojan Miovski and Vicente Besuijen into the fray with Matty Kennedy and Mylsovic hooked.
Besuijen did appear sharp when he came off the bench and quickly went close with a long range effort which flashed just over the bar.
The Premiership men went even closer in the 56th minute when Duk perfectly teed up Duncan.
However, keeper Chris Truesdale pulled off an incredible reaction stop with his legs to deny him.
Midway through the second period Truedsale produced even more heroics.
Besuijen looked certain to score from as he latched onto a Jonny Hayes cross.
Yet, somehow the keeper managed to make an incredible block from point blank range.
Darvel then had an amazing stroke of luck on 74 minutes.
Leighton Clarkson was flagged for offside as he squared for Miovski to score.
However, television replays clearly showed the Aberdeen midfielder was at least two yards ONSIDE.
The hosts goal was leading a charmed life as Truesdale pulled off another phenomenal save to keep out a Besuijen effort and ensure his team etched their name into football folklore.
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