And, if truth be told, Philippe Clement might have been the only man inside Hampden Park yesterday who thought it was a bright idea at the time. But, by telling the talismanic Cantwell to stay inside during the half time interval, and replacing him with Scott Wright, the Belgian’s big call turned into a decisive game changer.
A 1-0 win for the Dons on Saturday evening in a match which only really caught fire in the final 15 minutes followed by yesterday’s 45 minute stand off between Hearts and Rangers. That Hearts were trampled in the space of 14 minutes will have pleased Clement who arrived at Hampden yesterday knowing there was no room for error. Yes Lawrence Shankland pulled one back from the spot but by then this contest had long since fizzled out.
That it took them 15 minutes to get out of pedestrian mode may have surprised Clement who must have expected a great deal more urgency and energy from his side, given what was on the line. Saturday’s semi-final might have made for a long watch but, ultimately, for Barry Robson and his players, it was worth every second of the humdrummery.
Not only did they have to suffer the agony of having VAR spot one of Martin Boye’s big toes creeping over the offside line - depriving their talisman of his big moment - but the injury plagued Aussie would later pull up for no obvious reason and then limp off towards the treatment table.