Football

A second-half header from Aaron Hayden was the difference as the Red Dragons earned the bragging rights in the first fixture between these two since January 2018.

The visitors enjoyed the better of the early opportunities in a frantic opening with Ollie Palmer, Elliott Lee and James McClean coming the closest to opening the scoring.

At the other end, Rovers’ best chance fell to Kristian Dennis who was inches away from prodding the ball home at the far post following a Regan Hendry cross.

Wrexham continued to turn the screw after the break and were rewarded in the 56th minute when Hayden headed home Tom O’Connor’s corner for his first of the season.

Parkinson’s men continued to push forward and could have extended their lead through Ollie Palmer while Dennis came closest to snatching an unlikely point for Rovers when his injury-time effort was blocked on the line.

It’s now five games unbeaten in League Two for Wrexham while Ian Dawes’ Tranmere side have lost three on the bounce.

Lewis got the ball straight from a Toby Savin clearance on 75 minutes and hit it first time into the far corner of the net to complete the scoring as the Stags moved up to third place in the league.

Mansfield had two shots on target in the first half and took them both.

They opened the scoring after 29 minutes when James Gale’s ball into the box was chested down by Davis Keillor-Dunn and his superb overhead kick found the top of the net.

It was two on 36 minutes when Keillor-Dunn turned provider, his low cross being fired home by George Maris from eight yards.

Stanley’s Jack Nolan had a long-range strike saved by Christy Pym in added time in the first half while, just after the re-start, Savin denied Maris a second.

It was action-packed with Pym pushing out a fierce Josh Andrews strike and Nolan could only put the follow-up over the bar while substitute Hiram Boateng fired narrowly wide for the Stags.

Then came the Lewis wonder goal to seal three points for Mansfield.

Kian Spence had given the visitors the lead early on, before Nemane levelled just before half-time on his 100th appearance for the club.

County goalkeeper Aidan Stone was called into action twice in quick succession as he denied Sam Foley’s shot with a fine save before tipping Cole Stockton’s effort over the crossbar.

But Barrow took the lead when Dom Telford’s deflected shot fell kindly into the path of Spence to head home.

However, the Magpies levelled the game shortly before half-time – Jodi Jones equalling the record for the most assists in a League Two season by teeing up Nemane at the back post.

The hosts continued to dominate, but almost fell behind again when Spence’s effort flew over the crossbar – Dan Crowley prodding an effort wide moments later.

Maynard was within inches of a victory during his first game but Jones’ teasing delivery was put over by top scorer Macaulay Langstaff.

The visitors took the lead in fine fashion as Max Dean’s neat turn in midfield was followed up with a sensational strike into the roof of Luca Ashby-Hammond’s net.

County almost levelled as Macaulay Langstaff saw his effort cannon back off the crossbar, with Dan Crowley also going close moments later.

The home side’s dominance was rewarded in the final minute of first-half stoppage-time as Nemane’s deflected cross found Sam Austin on the line to score.

Alassana Jatta headed the hosts in front three minutes into the second half after good work from Adam Chicksen.

Dons would draw level with Ellis Harrison grabbing his first of the afternoon with a low finish into the bottom corner in the 64th minute, adding another seven minutes from time after breaking the offside trap and dinking the ball home.

However, the spoils were shared as Jodi Jones’ teasing delivery found Nemane unmarked at the back post to finish.

Both sides finished the game with 10 men as Stevenage moved up to fourth and the Latics suffered their fourth straight loss of the campaign.

After a feisty start, Pressley converted a ninth-minute penalty following a Babajide Adeeko foul on Jordan Roberts.

It went from bad to worse for the visitors as skipper Callum Lang was shown a second yellow card for a foul after 34 minutes of his 250th league appearance.

There were 19 minutes of first-half added time as Boro’s Luther James-Wildin was carried off on a stretcher following a head collision with team-mate Carl Piergianni.

Wigan manager Shaun Maloney also received a yellow card just before the break amid a busy afternoon for referee Alan Young.

Chaos continued in the 74th minute, as substitute Alex MacDonald saw a straight red for a foul on Charlie Hughes.

The visitors should have equalised when Josh Magennis scuffed wide seven minutes from time but Steve Evans’ side held on to remain six points off an automatic promotion place.

The 25-year-old had kept a clean sheet as the Gunners won at the home of their neighbours on January 15 to keep their Premier League title ambitions alive.

As Ramsdale collected his water bottle from behind the goal, Spurs fan Joseph Watts leapt onto the advertising hoarding and aimed a boot at the his back. Watts was eventually given a four-year banning order having been charged with assault and throwing a missile onto the pitch.

Speaking immediately after the game, Ramsdale told Sky Sports: “It’s a shame because it’s just a game of football at the end of the day. I think both sets of players tried to bring me away. Thankfully nothing actually happened too drastic. It’s a sour taste.”

Now the England international has explained that he was already dealing with pain in his private life before the incident at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“There are things that go on in our lives that the public has no idea about, and the past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for me and my family,” he wrote for The Players’ Tribune.

“After the high of climbing to the top of the Premier League table and going off to my first World Cup, my wife and I found out that we were expecting our first child.

“Mikel (Arteta) gave me a few extra days off after the World Cup, so we went on a brief holiday. It was genuinely the happiest time of our lives. And yeah … there’s no easy way to say this, but I feel like it’s important that people know.

“On the flight home, my wife had a miscarriage.

A post shared by Aaron Ramsdale (@aaronramsdale)

“There’s really no way that I can describe the pain of that six-hour flight back to London, even now. I just want people out there to know that they’re not alone if they’re going through it themselves.”

Arteta offered Ramsdale additional time off – “in the middle of the title race, with so much pressure on the club… for me, that’s a manager” – but he opted to play on.

“Three days later, we were playing Spurs in the derby, and for me that was the only way to get my mind off things. Football has always been my escape. I told the manager I wanted to play,” he added.

“It couldn’t have been a better night. We won 2–0 under the floodlights, and our away fans were going absolutely ballistic. If you watch the match back, you can see me beaming at the final kick of the ball. I went to get my water bottle behind the goal, and never in a million years would I ever think that I’d get kicked in the back by a Tottenham fan.

“I’ve had some very spicy banter with fans all over the English leagues. I’ve been called everything you can imagine. But it’s never crossed the line like that. I remember when I got back to the dressing room, I couldn’t even celebrate because I got pulled out to give a police statement.”

“You know, I almost felt bad for the bloke who had done it, because I thought to myself: If he only knew me as a person, and what I’m actually going through right now, there’s no way that he would’ve done that. If we bumped into each other one day and got chatting about football, we’d probably be mates.”

Ramsdale, who is now expecting a baby with wife Georgina, also wrote about the challenges faced by his brother, who is gay, and wants to see football become a sport that is a “welcoming place for everyone”.

“I want my brother, Ollie — or anyone of any sexuality, race or religion — to come to games without having to fear abuse,” he wrote. “And when we lift a trophy at the Emirates Stadium, I want my brother there with me.”

Wales skipper Ramsey will lead the Dragons into battle against Armenia and Turkey and then turn his attention to the National Three Peaks Challenge and ascending Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa on Wednesday.

The walking distance is 23 miles and total ascent 10,052 feet with a driving distance of 462 miles.

“I am fully focused on the Welsh games, but we get back and fly up to Scotland and start there first,” said Ramsey, who is embarking on the journey with 10 others to raise funds for the @its.neveryoucharity created in memory of six-year-old Hugh Menai-Davis who died from rhabdomyosarcoma in September 2021.

“The plan will be to do that and work our way down to Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa).

“It’s for a cause that’s really close to my heart as a good friend of mine lost his little one.

“So, I’ll be putting on my walking boots and trying to get my way up those mountains.

”Let’s just focus on these two games first, and get to the top of the table before the Three Peaks.”

Wales host Armenia in Cardiff on Friday before meeting Turkey in Samsun on Monday.

Rob Page’s side are looking to build on a promising start to the campaign in March when they took four points from two games, a 1-1 draw away to World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and a 1-0 home victory over Latvia.

Ramsey said: “We got off to a fantastic start after a difficult World Cup for many reasons.

“It was important for us to hit the ground running, away to Croatia. It has set us up quite nicely now and we’ve got some momentum going.

“But football can change very quickly and we’ve got to treat the Armenia game with respect.

“They’ve been dangerous in certain periods of their games, they scored a very good goal against Turkey for example.

“But it’s all on us. We are at home, fans behind us and we have a game plan.”

Wales are at full-strength with Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies back after missing the March qualifiers and Neco Williams cleared to play after breaking his jaw in April.

The Nottingham Forest full-back has taken a full part in training and manager Page confirmed that there was no need for him to wear a protective mask.

Williams’ Forest team-mate Johnson has been the subject of a reported £30million offer from Brentford and Page insisted it will not be a distraction for the 22-year-old forward.

Page said: “He is a great lad and he has got a great support network around him.

“I know his dad (David) – I used to play against him – and I know the messages his dad will be giving him.

“I was impressed with the way they conducted themselves in January when his head could have been turned.

“He could have had the opportunity to go to one of the so-called bigger clubs, and he didn’t. I thought he made the right decision for his future.

“He’s a level-headed lad, he’s sensible. His focus will be on this game on Friday.”

The Wales captain had the opportunity this summer to become the first British player to join Saudi Arabia’s lucrative league, ahead of Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson moving there last month.

But Ramsey put family first and returned to hometown club Cardiff, where he made his senior debut as a 16-year-old in April 2007 to break John Toshack’s record as the Bluebirds’ youngest-ever player.

“There was an offer and there’s plenty of benefits to that offer over there,” said former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder Ramsey, speaking about the Saudi Pro League interest for the first time.

“But for me, it wasn’t the right time or the right thing to do for me, my career and for my family.

“It can be very appealing and probably depends on a lot of things, on what you’ve done financially, if you’re secure or not and things like that.

“For another individual, it might be life changing, but for me, being around my family and things like that is priceless. So you couldn’t put a figure on that.

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a powerful influence in world football that has seen a huge influx of talent to the Saudi Pro League.

It is estimated that Saudi Arabia’s football-related spending has exceeded £3.5billion in the past two years with a host of players following Cristiano Ronaldo to the Middle East kingdom.

Ramsey told Sky Sports: “It’s a hot topic at the moment. Obviously, there are financial rewards for going there – probably very rewarding – and a lot of players can’t see past that sort of thing.

“I think obviously it depends on the individual situation. I think I’ve been very fortunate in my career that I’ve done OK so far.

“So there’s plenty of factors that go into people’s decisions, but I’ve made mine based on my situation.”

Ramsey makes his third Cardiff debut – he had a short loan spell there in 2011 after suffering serious injury at Arsenal – at Leeds on Sunday with excitement swirling around the Bluebirds.

Despite being under an EFL transfer embargo that has prevented them from paying fees for players, new boss Erol Bulut has strengthened a squad that flirted with relegation from the Sky Bet Championship last season.

Bulut has signed six players in total with former Reading striker Yakou Meite and West Brom loanee Karlan Grant among the arrivals.

“I like the way the manager has come in and put down his own stamp so far,” said Ramsey. “He’s very positive and so is the style of football that he wants to try and play.

“He’s managed Fenerbahce – one of the top teams in Turkey – and is used to the expectations and pressures at the highest level to be able to perform and to win games.

“The club had some great years at the highest level and that is something we want to try and bring back here.

“So hopefully not too long in the future, we can see Cardiff back in the Premier League.”

After a cinch Premiership defeat at Ibrox and a loss against the Light Blues in the Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, Steven Naismith’s side again came up short against Rangers.

Having scored twice in the 2-0 home win over St Mirren on Sunday, Brighton loanee Sima struck again in the 34th minute to take the three points back to Govan.

With Celtic beating Hibernian 4-1 at Parkhead, Rangers are still eight points behind the leaders having played a game less with Philippe Clement extending his unbeaten run since taking over as boss to 11 matches.

The third-placed Jambos went into the game with four straight home league wins for the first time for five years but will have to start another run.

There was a familiar name on the Hearts bench as former Scotland number one Craig Gordon returned after almost a year having recovered from breaking his leg against Dundee United on Christmas Eve.

The 40-year-old instantly put pressure on the club’s other Scotland keeper Zander Clark, who also has hopes of making Euro 2024 and he had a mixed evening.

Craig Halkett and Barrie McKay also returned from lengthy spells out while Nathaniel Atkinson and Kyosuke Tagawa were reinstated to the starting line-up as Yutaro Oda and Liam Boyce dropped out altogether.

For the visitors left-back Ridvan Yilmaz took over from Borna Barisic, missing altogether, with Brazilian striker Danilo in for Cyriel Dessers.

In the 11th minute Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland blasted a shot over the bar on the break after Yilmaz had carelessly lost possession leaving the Rangers rearguard exposed.

Rangers midfielder Tom Lawrence limped off in the 17th minute to be replaced by Jose Cifuentes.

In the 25th minute, as Hearts drove their way into the Rangers box, Shankland’s shot from 12 yards was parried by keeper Jack Butland with Alex Cochrane’s shot from the rebound blocked by the body of James Tavernier.

Danilo had the ball in the Hearts net from eight yards just before the half-hour mark but was offside.

However, when Tavernier broke out of defence and split the Jambos backline with a well-weighted pass, Sima sped clear and when Clark rushed out from his goal, he slipped the ball past him for his 12th goal of the season.

Minutes later, Todd Cantwell lobbed the ball just over the bar from close range and then Clark stuck his foot out to deny Danilo from just a few yards.

Atkinson and Jorge Grant were replaced by Oda and Kenneth Vargas at the start of the second half but it was Rangers who reasserted.

In the 51st minute Tavernier’s curling free-kick into the Hearts box was dropped by Clark but Danilo’s shot was blocked by Tagawa and the home side escaped again, as they did minutes later when Yilmaz’s angled-drive flew wide of the far post.

Clark parried a long-distance drive from John Lundstram and Yilmaz fired the rebound high over the bar, before Kemar Roofe and Dujon Sterling took over from Danilo and Yilmaz.

Just before that, Butland made a fantastic save from Vargas’ powerful left-footed drive, which raised Jambo hopes.

In the 79th minute Clark made a fine stop with his foot after Sima had been set up by Roofe but the offside flag was up.

Rangers had to do some stout defending in the closing stages as Hearts went all out but they kept the door closed to keep on Celtic’s coat tails.

Graeme Shinnie’s thunderbolt in the eighth minute set the tone for the match, which was not helped as a contest by Jack Baldwin’s red card six minutes later.

A first competitive goal for Ester Sokler seemed to have wrapped up the win, but Kyle Turner’s late penalty did set up a nervy finish that the Dons saw out for victory.

The Staggies would have been looking for a strong start to remind their visitors what they are capable of after a 4-0 defeat at Pittodrie in the league last Sunday, but instead they went behind early on.

With just seven minutes on the clock, Stefan Gartenmann’s throw in was only half-cleared by Will Nightingale to the edge of the box. Shinnie lined up a volley – hitting it perfectly to clip the underside of the crossbar and in, leaving Ross Laidlaw helpless in goal.

Five minutes later, the situation went from bad to worse for County as their captain Baldwin was sent off.

He was trying to beat Duk to a long ball over the top of the defence, but when a tussle sent the pair to the ground just outside the box Baldwin was deemed to have denied a goalscoring opportunity and was shown a red card.

Bojan Miovski almost doubled the advantage towards the end of the first half with a chip over Laidlaw, but he got a little too much power on the shot, which landed on the roof of the net.

An unfortunate serious injury to Josh Sims in the second half provided the catalyst for County to throw on an extra attacking player.

However, that only meant more space for Aberdeen to exploit going forward and they grabbed a second on the counter attack when Leighton Clarkson picked out an unmarked Sokler to score with his first touch, just seconds after coming on.

County got a goal back with eight minutes left, as Alex Samuel was fouled by Slobodan Rubezic inside Aberdeen’s box with Turner expertly converting the penalty.

Although that set up a frantic conclusion to the match, County could not find a leveller to force the game into extra time.

The result means Ross County’s seven-year wait for a return to the national stadium goes on, while Aberdeen reached the final four of the League Cup for the second successive season.

Robson was speaking exactly a year after being installed in the position, initially on an interim basis, and ahead of a crucial encounter against Dundee at Pittodrie on Tuesday night.

The Dons sit eighth in the cinch Premiership, two points behind Dundee, and a place below where they were when Jim Goodwin was sacked a year ago.

Robson led an impressive charge to third spot last season but defeat at Tynecastle on Saturday has left his side 19 points behind Hearts, albeit with three games in hand.

Some fans called for Robson to leave at Tynecastle and a “Robson must go” banner appeared outside Pittodrie afterwards.

“When you’re at a big football club, you have an expectation here,” Robson said. “I have been at this club for a long time, I have been a fan of this football club my whole life. I am from the area. If anyone understands, I understand.

“All I want to do is win football matches and get the fans home happy.

“We will go out there and try to win the game for the fans. And they will get behind us. We just need to get on the front foot, be positive and bring our talents to the game.

“If we get on the front foot and start the game well the fans will always back us here.

“The fans have been great with me since I’ve been here, they really have. The players, myself, the staff appreciate that. We need to give back to them and make sure we win games.

“I get their frustrations, I understand that. We just have to make sure we perform and win games for them.”

Robson refused to dwell on the banner and talk of potential protests at the stadium.

“That’s not my focus,” the former Aberdeen midfielder said. “I can’t control that. I can control what’s in the building, our players and the staff. That’s all I try to control.

“There’s a good culture in here with the players. They work hard for each other, they want to do well, and I have no doubts they will keep doing that.”

Robson also led Aberdeen to the Viaplay Cup final and a European campaign which saw them beat Eintracht Frankfurt and get results against HJK Helsinki, PAOK and Swedish champions Hacken.

However, the league form is putting him under serious pressure. Goodwin was sacked with Aberdeen sitting on 29 points from 23 games. The Dons now have 23 points from 20 matches.

Reflecting on his year in the role, Robson said: “There’s been a lot of positives. The only frustration for us has been the position we are in the league. That’s what we are trying to address.

“But it’s been a privilege. I have loved every minute if it. I’m an Aberdeen fan, I’m an Aberdeen boy. I know what it takes to manage here and I know the expectation.”

Ferguson guided the Dons to European Cup Winners' Cup glory in 1983, beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the final in Gothenburg.

He also oversaw three league titles, four Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup during his eight-year stint at the club between 1978 and 1986.

Aberdeen announced on Thursday they had commissioned a bronze Ferguson statue, located on the external concourse outside the Richard Donald Stand at Pittodrie, which is expected to be unveiled later this year.

"I am thrilled and honoured by this recognition from Aberdeen Football Club, where I spent a fantastic and memorable part of my managerial career," Ferguson said.

"I am particularly pleased with the image the club has chosen to base the statue on and with the choice of sculptor whose recent work is incredibly lifelike. I can't wait to see it!"

Produced by sculptor Andy Edwards, the statue will be based on a photograph of Ferguson taken after Aberdeen secured the Scottish title at Easter Road in 1980.

Leigh made his debut for the national team against Saudi Arabia last week, taking part in both the 3-0 loss and the 2-1 win.  The 26-year-old made a decent impression at wing back and is already eager to be a part of future matches.

The matches were the first for the national team following a months-long break imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.  There is little time to ease their way in, however, as the Jamaicans will already have their eyes on a big 2021, which will include participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but more importantlywill mark the start of the team’s World Cup qualification campaign.

 “We have World Cup qualifiers in June and then straight into the Gold Cup in July. In the World Cup group we have Costa Rica, Mexico, and the USA,” Leigh told The Press and Journal.

“There is another trip in March to Catalonia, so hopefully I can play well enough to stay in the plans,” he added.

“It would mean playing all through next summer, but that’s something you consider when you want to play international football.

“The prospect of playing in a World Cup is above everything else, it would be a massive thing. I want to commit to it and do everything I can to help us get there.”

The hosts took the lead through Nicky Devlin after 31 minutes at the Pittodrie Stadium before Nedim Bajrami's individual brilliance saw Rangers back on level terms 18 minutes into the second half.

Celebrations soon resumed in Aberdeen as substitute Morris crashed in the winner 11 minutes later.

Victory sees Jimmy Thelin's side move nine points clear of Rangers, who sit in third, as they remain level on 28 points with Celtic, only behind on goal difference.

Celtic continued to add to that superior goal difference with a 2-0 win over Dundee at Celtic Park.

Two goals inside 10 minutes in the second half from Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels gave them a routine victory to keep them unbeaten at the top of the table.

The Dons have been allocated 19,000 tickets for their Hampden meeting with Celtic while Hearts will say they will receive an identical initial allocation of 21,000 to their opponents, Rangers.

Both of the last-four underdogs had sought a 50-50 split but the PA news agency understands Aberdeen declined the deal Hearts accepted, to underwrite the cost of any unsold tickets.

The Scottish Football Association announced that the Dons would face Celtic at 12.30pm on April 20 with Hearts playing Rangers at 3pm the following day.

A statement from Aberdeen read: “The club requested the opportunity to sell up to 50 per cent of the tickets, with any unsold tickets by an agreed date being allocated to our opponents.

“Disappointingly, this has once again been declined based primarily on historical ticket sales at this stage of the competition.

“As a result, the Aberdeen allocation for this match will be for up to 19,000 tickets, almost identical to the Viaplay Cup final in December, split between the South Stand and West Stand, depending on demand.”

Aberdeen quickly sold an initial 17,000 tickets for their Hampden clash with Rangers in December before problems emerged over a second batch of 2,500 tickets as fans complained over their loyalty points not being taken into account, while the club recalled tickets apparently sold to Light Blues fans.

They sold about 13,000 tickets for the League Cup semi-finals in each of the past two seasons, figures which were taken into account during this process.

Hearts were “delighted” to share their news with supporters.

A statement read: “The club put forward a proposal to secure an equal share of tickets, guaranteeing Hearts supporters the opportunity to purchase seats in Hampden’s North Stand.

“We had to make an extremely strong case for our argument, given the size of our opponents’ fanbase and historic semi-final ticket sales.

“We are, therefore, extremely pleased to confirm that our proposition was accepted, and both Hearts and Rangers will be given an initial 21k allocation of tickets to sell to our respective supporters.

“We would like to thank the Scottish FA for their assistance in this process.

“This gives us the best opportunity to have Steven Naismith and our players walk out onto the Hampden pitch to a sea of maroon, spread out equally and fairly across the national stadium.

“The door has now been opened for as many Hearts fans as possible to attend and, hopefully, have a special day out.

“One condition of this agreement is that the club covers the cost of any unsold tickets from our allocation so it is in all of our interests to sell out and give the team the level of backing that Hearts fans are famous for.”

Head coach Naismith welcomed the news.

“In the semi-final of the biggest cup competition in the country when you’ve got two of the biggest clubs in the country, it really should be (50/50),” he said. “It should be a great atmosphere to be involved in.”

The SFA declined to comment.

Both clubs sought a 50-50 split for their respective matches but only Hearts had their request granted.

The Edinburgh club say they have been allocated an identical initial share to Rangers of 21,000 seats in the 50,000-capacity national stadium.

The Dons will face Celtic at 12.30pm on April 20 with Hearts facing Rangers at 3pm the following day.

A statement from Aberdeen read: “The club requested the opportunity to sell up to 50 per cent of the tickets, with any unsold tickets by an agreed date being allocated to our opponents.

“Disappointingly, this has once again been declined based primarily on historical ticket sales at this stage of the competition.

“As a result, the Aberdeen allocation for this match will be for up to 19,000 tickets, almost identical to the Viaplay Cup final in December, split between the South Stand and West Stand, depending on demand.”

Hearts were “delighted” to share their news with supporters.

A statement read: “The club put forward a proposal to secure an equal share of tickets, guaranteeing Hearts supporters the opportunity to purchase seats in Hampden’s North Stand.

“We had to make an extremely strong case for our argument, given the size of our opponents’ fanbase and historic semi-final ticket sales.

“We are, therefore, extremely pleased to confirm that our proposition was accepted, and both Hearts and Rangers will be given an initial 21k allocation of tickets to sell to our respective supporters.

“We would like to thank the Scottish FA for their assistance in this process.

“This gives us the best opportunity to have Steven Naismith and our players walk out onto the Hampden pitch to a sea of maroon, spread out equally and fairly across the national stadium.

“The door has now been opened for as many Hearts fans as possible to attend and, hopefully, have a special day out.

“One condition of this agreement is that the club covers the cost of any unsold tickets from our allocation so it is in all of our interests to sell out and give the team the level of backing that Hearts fans are famous for.”

Head coach Naismith welcomed the news.

“In the semi-final of the biggest cup competition in the country when you’ve got two of the biggest clubs in the country, it really should be (50/50),” he said. “It should be a great atmosphere to be involved in.”

The Scottish FA has been approached for comment.

As in the first leg, Hacken took a two-goal lead thanks to a first-half double from Ibrahim Sadiq, who is tipped to move to AZ Alkmaar ahead of the transfer deadline.

The Dons eyed another comeback after Bojan Miovski’s VAR-assisted penalty saw him halve the deficit.

However, another VAR penalty decision saw Amor Layouni seal a 5-3 aggregate victory and his side’s spot in the Europa League.

The Dons showed three changes from the away leg, with Jamie McGrath, James McGarry and Richard Jensen all handed their first Aberdeen starts. The Swedes were without Johan Hammar, sent off late in the first leg, but were otherwise unchanged from the 2-2 first leg draw.

Similar to the first leg, the match began in wide open fashion with both sides looking dangerous going forward but vulnerable at the back.

Hacken were comfortable in possession and their 14th-minute opening goal typified that as they patiently worked the ball in front of the Aberdeen defence before Sadiq worked space to hit an unstoppable shot just inside the post from 22 yards.

Aberdeen’s more direct route saw Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes sent through one-on-one with Peter Abrahamsson only to hit straight at the goalkeeper, who raced off his line to narrow the angle

A Leighton Clarkson corner just after the half-hour found Jensen, whose flick reached NIcky Devlin at the back post, but the first-leg scorer could only turn wide of the back post.

Miovski thought he had levelled when he met another Clarkson cross, this time at the near post, but Abrahamsson this time tipped the ball on to the post to deny the North Macedonian.

Aberdeen’s profligacy would come back to bite in the 41st minute when Sadiq flicked the ball over the diving Roos as he raced onto Mikkel Rygaard’s sweet pass through the home defence.

The visitors started the second half looking to kill the game off, with Franklin Tebo heading over from a corner before Srdan Hrstic somehow contrived to blast over the bar with the goal gaping just four yards in front of him.

Aberdeen pulled a goal back almost immediately as Duk went down under Tebo’s challenge. Referee Daniel Siebert initially indicated a dive, but a VAR review saw him change his mind and award a spot-kick.

Miovski stepped up and coolly slotted home from the penalty spot in the 56th minute.

The same man could have levelled matters five minutes later as he raced on to Jensen’s ball over the top before curling agonisingly wide from 18 yards with just the keeper to beat.

Sadiq was denied a hat-trick by the upright but it was the Ghanaian who was brought down by Slobodan Rubezic for the spot-kick that saw Layouni find the bottom corner in the 81st minute, the only surprise being that it took a review to award what always looked a stonewall penalty.

The Dons pushed hard for a goal to set up a grandstand finish but ran out of time.

Bojan Miovski took his tally to 22 for the season with two smart first-half goals from close range, the first through the goalkeeper’s legs and the second a stunning finish from just outside the six-yard box.

Warnock’s arrival has been met with intrigue, and the home support put on a pre-match display to welcome the 75-year-old for his first home match, with Bonnyrigg perhaps providing less glamorous opposition but also a potential banana skin.

Winning this competition is a stated aim of the Yorkshireman, and he made five changes to the side that had lost to Rangers in midweek, handing a debut to goalkeeper Ross Doohan in place of Kelle Roos, who came in for criticism for his part in the Ibrox defeat.

Doohan was in action early on, having to be alert to claim a deflected Smart Osadolor effort as the visitors tried to make an impression in front of their 859 travelling fans.

Aberdeen quickly settled into their rhythm and took the lead after 17 minutes. Leighton Clarkson stepped onto a loose ball and played in Shayden Morris, who in turn slipped in Miovski to nutmeg goalkeeper Paddy Martin.

The visitors responded and, after Jack Mackenzie coughed up possession on the edge of the area, Osadolor should have levelled, only for Nicky Devlin to get across and clear off the line.

The Dons wasted no time settling their nerves thereafter, with Clarkson whipping a superb cross to Dante Polvara at the back post. He headed down and Miovski struck a sweet half-volley into the top-right corner from eight yards.

The visitors tightened up to avoid the score becoming an embarrassment and they would have been relieved to see Miovski withdrawn at the hour mark, although not before he had forced a smart save from Martin.

There were a number of substitutions as Warnock got a look at as many of his squad as possible, but they still had to be wary of their League Two visitors, who forced a save from Doohan through Ross Gray after 65 minutes.

For the most part, though, Aberdeen were comfortable against a stoic Rose outfit as they moved into the next round.

The former Dons midfielder took over from Jim Goodwin in January and was put in charge until the end of the season.

However, Aberdeen have now announced Robson and his assistant Steve Agnew have agreed two-year contract extensions and will remain at the club until at least the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

After seven straight wins, the Dons are in a strong position to finish third in the cinch Premiership, sitting five points ahead of Hearts with five fixtures remaining.

Robson told the club’s official website: “I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to manage this fantastic football club.

“I would like to thank the chairman and the wider board for putting their trust in me and together with Steve and my staff we will work tirelessly to match the ambitions of the club.

“Since being asked to take the team at the end of January the response from the players has been immense, and likewise the supporters have been brilliant and got right behind the team. They have played their part in our recent wins.

“We still have five tough matches remaining this season but we’re all more determined than ever to deliver European football again for the supporters and longer term meet the expectations of this great club.”

Robson will officially become the 24th managerial appointment in the history of Aberdeen.

Chairman Dave Cormack said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Barry as men’s first team manager.

“Barry has not only delivered excellent results on the pitch over the last couple of months, he’s also been instrumental in implementing a holistic approach at Cormack Park, whereby youth academy and first-team coaches and staff are working closely together on a club-wide approach to player development, delivering a consistent playing philosophy from the academy to the first team, and maintaining and developing the player pathway to first team football.

“He immediately recognised the need to surround himself with experience to help him in his growth and we are pleased that Steve Agnew has agreed to become permanent assistant manager.

“Barry’s focus now, whilst clearly pushing to secure European football for the club, will be on the recruitment process for next season.”

Agnew said: “I’m delighted to join Barry as part of the coaching team at this great club.

“I have really enjoyed my time here so far. It is a fantastic club with amazing supporters at its core.

“They have got behind us home and away and the support has contributed to our run of form.

“Our goal now is to finish this season strong and continue to plan for 2023/24.”

Hearts had started the brighter of the two and took the lead through Lawrence Shankland, but Bojan Miovski levelled matters early in the second half and Clarkson struck two minutes into injury time to give his side the points

The opening stages were largely played in the Aberdeen half, as their visitors sought to capitalise on the pressure that has descended on Robson’s side who were without a win in the previous six matches.

That said, it was almost the quarter-hour mark before Kelle Roos was forced into a save, getting down low to his left to hold Alex Lowry’s 20-yard shot.

But Hearts deservedly opened the scoring on the 20th minute, former Don Shankland inevitably evading the attentions of Graeme Shinnie to send a close-range diving header into the net from an Alex Cochrane corner.

The goal seemed to awaken Aberdeen and they had their first sight of goal when Jonny Hayes rolled a free-kick on the right to the onrushing Clarkson on the edge of the area. His shot bobbled wide of the left-hand upright, while Shinnie shot wide of the opposite post as the first half drew to a close.

And the Dons continued to improve after the interval, with Richard Jensen seeming intent on single-handed lay driving his team forward. Indeed, the big Finn unleashed a shot from distance after 52 minutes, that had Zander Clark flying across goal to claw away.

And a minute later, Aberdeen were level. Jamie McGrath played a big part in the build up as the Dons worked their way through the Hearts defence before Miovski applied the finishing touch from close range.

They could have been in front on the hour as Ester Sokler worked an opening on the right, but his angled drive found only the side netting.

Three minutes later, midfielder Beni Baningime was booked for a foul on Shinnie, which sparked a conflagration in the midfield, VAR ruling that the challenge was not worthy of a red card, with Miovski and Frankie Kent booked for their part in the afters.

A slew of substitutions broke up the flow of the play, but one of the subs, Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes drew a save from Clark with a low drive.

And the Cape Verde international turned provider with a neat pass to Clarkson, who turned home from six yards to complete the turnaround a significantly lighten the mood around Pittodrie.