Bojan Miovski’s sensational late winner earned 10-man Aberdeen a 1-0 Viaplay Cup semi-final victory over Hibernian at Hampden Park.
The Easter Road side edged a scrappy first half and were denied an opener in the 49th minute when VAR ruled attacker Martin Boyle was offside before he had the ball in the Dons net.
Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie was sent off by referee John Beaton in the 75th minute for picking up a second yellow card for a silly push on Hibs defender Lewis Miller but just as it looked like the tide was turning towards Leith, Miovski broke clear three minutes later to drive in his 10th goal of the season, leaving Hibs kicking themselves.
The Granite City men will take on Rangers or Hearts, who play in Sunday’s other semi-final at the national stadium, in the December 17 final, and after riding their luck against Hibs, they may feel their name could be on the trophy.
Neither Aberdeen nor Hibs were in sparkling form going into the game.
Under Nick Montgomery, who was appointed Hibees boss in September, the Leith outfit were five matches without a win, albeit four were drawn, while Aberdeen’s midweek victory at Motherwell was their first in five matches.
Dons boss Barry Robson, part of the Pittodrie side who won the competition in 2014, brought in midfielder Connor Barron, with Dante Polvara dropping to the bench.
Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall replaced Jojo Wollacott, with left-back Jordan Obita, midfielder Joe Newell and Boyle also returning.
It was an untidy start to the game but in the eighth minute, as Hibs broke with pace and purpose, the back-tracking Barron did well to put Elie Youan’s intended pass to Boyle behind for a corner, the pressure ending when Youan scooped a shot from 12 yards over the bar when he ought to have at least hit the target.
Around 10 minutes later, Jair Tavares’ shot from an Obita cut-back was blocked by Dons defender Stefan Gartenmann for another corner which came to nothing.
At the other end, in Aberdeen’s first real foray, Miovski pulled the ball back for captain Graeme Shinnie but he failed to connect properly 12 yards from goal and the chance was lost.
The second half could only get better and within minutes of the restart Aberdeen right-back Nicky Devlin did well to clear a Miller cut-back for yet another Hibs corner which the Granite City side survived.
However, the Pittodrie defence was soon to be breached.
A long ball up the park from Hibs defender Will Fish was pulled out the air by the speedy Boyle before he raced on to knock it past Kelle Roos from 12 yards, but a lengthy VAR check ruled him offside and it was the Dons supporters who were cheering.
The game then sparked into life.
Hibs kept pushing and Roos made a fine save from Tavares’ angled-drive, and Dylan Vente’s goal-bound drive from a Youan pass hit Devlin and went behind for a corner and again the Leith side could not capitalise.
Barron made way for Polvara but soon the below-par Dons had more to worry about when MacKenzie, already booked for a foul on Miller earlier, chased after the Hibs defender to push him and receive a second yellow and a red from Beaton.
It looked ominous for Robson’s side but in sensational fashion, Miovski raced on to a Polvara pass and confidently beat Marshall with an angled-drive from 12 yards.
The Dons fans were in raptures and Miovski had another chance when he got through the Hibs rearguard but chipped past the post and then he was booked for going down too easily in the Hibs box under pressure from Fish.
Hibs pressed hard in the closing stages – substitute Christian Doidge sent a header wide – but seven added minutes could not bring a leveller and it was Aberdeen’s day.
Pioli says speculation over his Milan future is part of the job
Milan coach Stefano Pioli said criticism and speculation are part of his job, as he still does not know if he will remain in the role for next season.
Milan snapped a six-match winless streak with an emphatic 5-1 win over Cagliari on Saturday, yet the pressure remains on the Italian coach, with the Rossoneri only aiming for second place in Serie A after city rivals Inter became champions.
"We are a big club, there are big expectations, so fierce criticism is to be expected, just as ebullient praise is expected when you win," Pioli told Sky Sports.
"That is part of the job, you have to accept it all, or you do a different profession.
"I try to help the team to overcome difficult moments and play as well as possible. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes I got things wrong."
A section of Milan fans have been holding protests at matches, demanding clarity from the management regarding the club's plans after two seasons without silverware.
The club ended their Europa League campaign in the quarter-finals last month, losing at Roma.
Pioli added: "I am really sad about this situation, as we were so proud to create that symbiosis with the fans, which passed on positivity, energy and confidence.
"I have not yet talked to the club. We have another two rounds to go, the season is not over yet.
"I hope everyone around Milan can rediscover that harmony, enthusiasm and energy that helped us to achieve things that perhaps nobody believed were possible."
Al Hilal crowned Saudi Pro League champions after Al Hazm hammering
Al Hilal secured their fourth straight Saudi Pro League title after Aleksandar Mitrovic starred in Saturday's 4-1 thrashing of bottom side Al Hazm.
Faiz Selemani restored parity after Mitrovic's 15th-minute opener at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, only for Jorge Jesus' hosts to roar back and be crowned champions with three games remaining.
Ahmed Al Juwaid's own goal handed the initiative back to the dominant Al Hilal, who led 4-1 at the break after Mitrovic added another to his tally and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was on target.
The second of Mitrovic's strikes took him to a team-leading 26 league goals this term as Al Hilal breezed to another title, moving an unassailable 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr.
Jesus' side are unbeaten through all 31 games this season after securing their record-extending 19th top-flight crown in history, while Al Hazm need to win their last three matches to have any chance of staying up.
Al Hazm's relegation rivals Al Tai boosted their chances of survival in Saturday's earlier clash after a 1-1 draw away against Al Raed.
Al Tai are just a point away from 15th-placed Abha Club in their bid for top-flight safety after Ibrahim Al Nakhli's strike was cancelled out by Al Raed's Mohammed Fouzair in the second half.
Al-Ittihad 0-5 Al-Ettifaq: Ekambi scores hat-trick in five-star display
Karl Toko Ekambi netted a hat-trick as Al-Ettifaq got back to winning ways in style with a 5-0 thrashing of Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
He scored twice in four minutes at the end of the first half to send the visitors into the break 4-0 up before getting his third just 10 minutes after the break.
Seko Fofana had already given Steven Gerrard’s side the lead five minutes into the contest, while Moussa Dembele doubled their advantage from the penalty spot.
Al-Ittihad had the chances, but they could not find the back of the net, as they stayed fifth, but are now just six points above Al-Ettifaq.
Data Debrief: Clinical finishers
Al-Ettifaq had five shots on target against Al-Ittihad, scoring with all of them while creating an xG of 3.62.
With his hat-trick against Al-Ittihad, Ekambi has now scored 11 goals for the season, netting more than once for the first time since joining the club.
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