As the Dundee United fans made the familiar journey back from Hampden, they were entitled to be asking some questions of their team.
The penalty shootout loss to Hibs after a goalless William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final on Saturday was heartbreaking and not having a final to look forward to will make the last few weeks of the relegation battle even harder to bear.
The defeat did leave some puzzles to ponder and, in no particular order, here they are.
Why did the United players take so much time to settle into the game, particularly at the back?
Why was central defender Callum Morris played at left-back only to be replaced by actual full-back Paul Dixon after just 33 minutes?
Although he did well, was it fair on Chris Erskine to give him his first start in over three months in such a big match?
When it first became clear that Coll Donaldson was injured – several minutes before he actually came off the park – why was his replacement Guy Demel not readied to come on?
Having watched the assured display of the aforementioned Demel in central defence, why wasn’t he used in that position before now?
Why was one of the youngest players in the side, Blair Spittal, asked to take the very first penalty kick in the shootout rather than someone who has seen it all like Demel?
Should the Tangerines not be embarrassed to have been knocked out of both cup competitions in the same season by a lower-league side even if it was by “big club” Hibs on both occasions?
No doubt many reading this will have a few more questions of their own.
This isn’t about being wise after the event but more a case of real frustration that United could have done more to help themselves reach the cup final.
Victory against a Hibs team that bossed the first half but eventually dropped out of the match was there for the taking.
United were certainly streets ahead of their opponents in extra-time and should have won the game then,
As too often this season, though, they ended up as losers, looking on in despair from the half-way line as striker Jason Cummings turned from spotkick zero to shootout hero for the Hibees.
He made up for a ridiculous earlier miss from the spot by scoring the winner in the decider.
Spittal had stepped up first for United but saw his effort saved by Hibs goalkeeper Conrad Logan, who only played because number one Mark Oxley was suspended.
John McGinn made it 1-0 to the Easter Road men before Billy Mckay also had his strike saved by Logan.
Paul Hanlon converted for Hibs to make it 2-0, Paul Dixon scored for United and Martin Boyle found the net too.
That meant Demel had to score to keep United in it and he did but Cummings kept his cool to make it 4-2 to the Leith men and send them through to the final against Rangers on May 21.
The game itself finished 0-0 but the Tangerines had been well on top in extra-time.
For all their possession, though, they just couldn’t get the goal they craved.
United had chances in the regulation 90 minutes, too, with Mckay twice failing to convert when one-on-one with Logan.
However, the big talking point was the astonishing penalty miss from Easter Road striker Cummings on 29 minutes.
He tried to be clever by chipping the ball but looked daft when his woeful effort went over the bar.
Earlier, there had been a few selection surprises for the United fans as they took their seats inside the national stadium before kick-off.
Erskine made his first start since January 9, when he lined up against Airdrie at the Excelsior Stadium for the fourth round tie.
At the back, Morris was moved from central defence to left-back, with Sean Dillon and Donaldson in the middle of the four.
There were four changes in total for the Tannadice men in what appeared to be a 4-3-2-1 formation.
Dillon, Donaldson, Erskine and Spittal came in, while out of the side that lost to Inverness in the league a week earlier went Dixon, Demel, Gavin Gunning and Henri Anier.
The Easter Road men looked the more dangerous side in the early stages.
On 10 minutes, they weren’t too far away from scoring when Fraser Fyvie left fly with a shot from 20 yards.
United were certainly on the back foot and the opposition were finding it far too easy to get in behind them.
Remarkably, though, it was the Tangerines who came closest to scoring on 24 minutes.
Mckay raced clear of the Hibs defence and was left with only Logan to beat.
The burly goalie stood his ground and the United frontman shot straight at him and a golden opportunity was squandered.
On 29 minutes, Hibs were awarded a penalty for a handball against Donaldson as he tried to head away Fyvie’s cross.
It was harsh on the crestfallen United man, with the ball striking a combination of head and hand.
However, Hibs somehow managed to make a mockery of the spotkick, with Cummings chipping the ball over the bar.
Understandably, the frontman was booed by his own supporters as he traipsed back up the field.
United made a change on 33 minutes, taking off Morris and replacing him with Dixon.
Anthony Stokes shot over for the Hibees then Spittal chipped over for United.
On 43 minutes, terrible defending from the Edinburgh side set Mckay free again but Logan did well to get in the way of the shot.
Cummings must have received an ear-bashing from manager Alan Stubbs at half-time and, on 52 minutes, the Hibs striker almost got on the end of a cross from David Gray but the ball missed his nose by a few inches.
Erskine worked a one-two with Mckay on the hour mark, the midfielder smacking the return goalwards only for Logan to make a decent save.
Erskine then swung over a corner from the right that was met by Donaldson’s head but the defender’s attempt whizzed wide of the post.
United threatened again when Paul Paton chipped a ball into the Hibs box which found Erskine.
It then broke back to Ryan Dow and his shot hit Logan, bounced up towards the net only to be nodded away from under the bar by Paul Hanlon.
On 74 minutes, the Tangerines lost Donaldson and he was replaced by Demel who slotted in at centre-half.
They then made their final substitution of the game on 76 minutes, with cramp victim Erskine replaced by Anier.
Despite the tinkering, though, neither side could magic up a goal and the match stumbled into extra-time.
Mckay looked to be breaking clear for the Tangerines on 94 minutes but he was flagged offside.
Four minutes later, Rankin fired in a strike from 25 yards that Logan had to turn around the post for a corner.
United were enjoying their best period of the whole match now and a Mckay snap-shot flew wide as they pushed forward again.
Anier, sent clear by Mckay, should have opened the scoring with two minutes of the first half of extra-time remaining.
However, Logan did well again to dive in front of the Estonian international, block the shot and rescue his team.
Three minutes after the turnaround, Cummings cut in and sent in a fierce left-foot shot that United goalie Eiji Kawashima punched away.
With the seconds ticking by, Paton had a go from just outside the box but the ball flew over and it was on to spotkicks, with Hibs sneaking through.