Stuart Armstrong aims to go from Aberdeen heartbreaker to hero in the Scottish Cup

After breaking the hearts of Aberdeen fans in the 2017 Scottish Cup final Stuart Armstrong aims to bring them trophy glory this season.

Midfielder Armstrong scored the leveller for Celtic in the Hoops’ 2-1 Scottish Cup final win again the Dons at Hampden nine years ago.

Aberdeen had taken an early lead in the final to give the Red Army hope but Armstrong levelled two minutes later.

Now the Scotland international, who signed for Aberdeen last summer, is determined to lead the Dons to back-to-back Scottish Cup triumphs.

Aberdeen won the trophy for the first time since 1990 last season and continue their defence in the quarter-final at Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday.

The 33-year-old, who was raised in the Granite City, won successive Scottish Cups with Celtic in 2017 and 2018.

He admits winning it with his home city club would be “a different sort of special”.

Armstrong said: “That final in 2017 was a crazy game and exhausting to play in.

“I remember it took a really late goal (Tom Rogic, 92nd minute) to get the win.

“In 2018 I was injured a lot so I didn’t really feel as part of it as I did the first time around.

“Having been away and come back to Scotland it would be a different sort of special to go as far in the competition this time.

“But it’s only the quarter-final and we know we can only afford to take one game at a time.

“We are probably not the favourites to go on and win it but that would make it more special.”

Armstrong won four league titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups during a trophy-laden spell at Celtic from 2015 to 2018.

Armstrong targets another Scottish Cup winner’s medal

He then moved from the Parkhead club to Southampton, then in the English Premier League, in a £7million move.

After racking up more than 200 appearances for Southampton, with 149 in the English top flight, he moved to Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS in 2024.

Armstrong won the Canadian Championship with Vancouver.

He aims to add a Scottish Cup winner’s medal to his collection.

Armstrong said: “My medals are in my house, up in the loft where I keep all my football stuff.

“That sounds quite bad when you say it,” he laughed, “but that’s where everything is from over my career.

“Once I retire I would like to do something with it and tidy it up a bit because it’s just a lot of things thrown together right now.

“There’s some stuff up there that I am really, really proud of.

“It would be fantastic to add another medal to that as I remember losing my first final with Dundee United.

“St. Johnstone beat us (2014 Scottish Cup final, 2-0) and I was devastated.

“Reaching the final is amazing but not coming away with the trophy is horrific.

“To repeat that winning feeling at a cup final is something that we are all striving for again.”

Aberdeen interim manager Peter Leven showed an inspiration video to the squad in the build up to the 2-0 win against Motherwell in the Scottish Cup fifth round.

Armstrong on inspirational video

Leven revealed the reasoning behind the video was to underline to recent signings not involved in the Scottish Cup win last season how much it meant to the club and fans.

The interim boss is set to play another video to the squad ahead of the clash against Dunfermline.

Armstrong said: “If you’re not from Scotland you maybe don’t understand what it means to the fans.

“Aberdeen’s a big football city with a very successful history so it was to give a flavour of what winning might feel like.

“It was to reignite the boys with a feeling of achieving some success of their own.

“We got through to the quarter-final so it (video) definitely worked.”

The bid to retain the Scottish Cup represents an opportunity for Aberdeen to save the season.

Taking positives from Celtic defeat

Currently still without a permanent manager, a 2-1 loss to Celtic confirmed the Dons will finish the season in the bottom six of the Premiership.

The defeat by Celtic continued a league slump that has yielded only one win in the last 13 Premiership matches.

Armstrong is focusing on the positives.

He said: “We looked at Wednesday’s game and although we ultimately lost there were definitely positives to take from it.

“Against the ball we showed good structure and it is probably the most secure we have been against the ball for a while now.

“If we can match that up with our in possession stuff too we will have a very good chance on Saturday night.”

[Source: Press and Journal]