The pain of his first derby defeat was the overriding emotion but Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon was still able to leave Dens Park on Wednesday night with some feeling of consolation.
The United manager had no complaints about the 2-1 defeat, although he felt his side were close to grabbing a late equaliser that would have taken the tie to extra time.
And, as a life-long Tangerine, he didn’t hide the fact that hurt.
But with the manager’s hat on, Ray was able to see some positives in the performance.
“We’re disappointed, of course we are, and I have to give Dundee credit for the way they started because they were better than us in the first half hour,” he said.
“In the end, though, these games come down to fine margins and we’ve lost because we gave away a sloppy second goal.
“That’s disappointing but I was pleased with the way the boys kept fighting to the end and I always felt there was a chance we could have got the equaliser.”
Ray was also pleased with the game time new signings Scott McDonald and Fraser Fyvie, both making their first starts, got under their belts.
Fyvie was playing for the first time since last season and McDonald’s only other action since then was when he made a brief appearance from the bench when the city neighbours met at the group stages of the competition last week.
“You could see they were lacking a bit of sharpness but they both showed they are quality players and the game will have done them a lot of good.
“I’ve been saying for the past week or so we are getting players available now and, by the end of the month, we’ll be looking strong.
“That doesn’t change the fact we’re disappointed about going out the cup.”
Another major blow for United was the early loss of skipper Tam Scobbie.
He tore a groin muscle in a clash with Dundee’s Marcus Haber and limped off with just 18 minutes on the clock.
The full extent of the injury is still to be assessed but the experienced defender has no chance of making Saturday’s home clash with Queen of the South in the Championship.
It’s likely to be a few weeks before he’s back.
“It’s a blow because Tam’s been doing very well for us and settled in quickly,” added Ray.
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