Aberdeen defender Max Lowe admits he had the frighteners put on him by James Forrest the last time he faced the Celtic winger at Hampden.
But the Dons full-back has vowed there is no way he will be scared stiff when they square off again in Sunday’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final.
The on-loan Derby full-back is a huge fan of the Scotland winger and reckons Forrest could more than cut it against the best defenders down south.
But he admits being terrified of taking on the Parkhead forward ahead of the Betfred Cup final after watching him blast seven goals for his club in the weeks ahead the December showpiece.
Forrest’s form remains just as impressive after he sealed victory for Neil Lennon’s side in last month’s Old Firm clash.
But Lowe insists he will not allow Forrest’s threat to scare him off making his own attacking contribution for the Dons this weekend.
He said: “I played against him in the cup final and it was frightening to be fair as he was on the back of scoring seven goals. He’d had a great month.
“He’s probably one of the best wingers I’ve played against.
“But I just try to thrive off that opportunity of keeping him quiet. I’ll try to stay tight to him for the whole game. It’s a hard job to do, but I’m looking forward to it.
“For me he is Premier League-level. It is just the pace of the boy. He’s very hard to keep up with when he’s in his stride and he’s obviously clinical as well with the number of goals he’s scored this season.
“You can see why he is spoken highly of and I’m sure he is down in England as well, so I don’t see why he couldn’t play in the Premier League.
“In certain situations I’ll need to be a bit cautious because one slack pass when I’m ahead of him then there will no catching him.
“But I will try to run him the other way when I can. Hopefully by the 80th minute, he’ll have tired and I can run him back and we can get a goal from it.”
The England youth international may only be 21 but he is not short on big-game experience.
Before making his Pittiodrie switch last summer, Lowe was part of a Shrewsbury side that twice made it to Wembley last term only to lose out to Lincoln in the final of the EFL Trophy before suffering more agony against Rotherham in the League One play-offs.
This season’s 1-0 Betfred Cup final defeat to the Hoops made it a hat-trick of heartache and Lowe is determined to finally sample that winning feeling on the biggest stage.
He said: “My Wembley record is bad to be fair. I’ve been there twice with Shrewsbury and lost twice.
“I want my first winners medal. I’m sick of getting runners-up medals.
“I know I’m only 21 and the gaffer said a lot of players don’t go to finals in their careers so I’m lucky enough to have been in three, but I need to start winning – that is what I’m hungry for.”
Lowe initially joined the Dons on a six-month agreement before being recalled by Pride Park boss Frank Lampard in January.
He turned out twice for the Rams before being given the go-ahead to rejoin Derek McInnes’s team for the remainder of the campaign.
Putting on a big display against Celtic’s treble treble chasers will not go unnoticed by his parent club as Lampard weighs up whether to make him a part of his squad next term.
But Lowe’s mind is firmly in the here and now.
“I’m not really thinking about going back to Derby right now as this is a massive occasion for Aberdeen,” he said.
“I am just going to look upon it as the biggest game of my life, because that is what it is on Sunday.”
