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.
The Scottish Professional Football League has announced that Rangers will receive about 25,000 tickets – roughly half the capacity of Hampden – but the Dons will only be allocated up to 19,500 seats for the December 17 showpiece.
An Aberdeen statement read: “The club robustly put its case to the SPFL to treat both teams fairly with an even share of tickets, given Hampden is a neutral venue and, as such, presented an option that would split the allocation for the match evenly between both competing finalists.
“Much to our extreme disappointment and frustration, this proposal was rejected by the SPFL, who cited operational challenges and attendances at previous semi-finals/finals as the principal reasons for their determination.”
Aberdeen had proposed that they hold back five sections of the North Stand and hand back tickets to pass on to Rangers by a certain date if the demand among their fans was not evident.
An SPFL spokesperson said: “Deciding ticketing allocations for cup finals is always a challenging task, as more fans invariably want to attend than the stadium can accommodate.
“We take a range of factors into consideration, including the number of tickets each club sells in the semi-finals, as well as their historic ticket sales in any previous League Cup finals and semi-finals.
“In addition, the design of the stadium and its ability to split sections is a major factor which influences our decisions, together with input from safety and security authorities to ensure fan safety and appropriate segregation.”
The league added that the split was broadly the same configuration as Aberdeen’s previous League Cup final appearance against Celtic five years ago.
There were 28,295 fans at the semi-final between Aberdeen and Hibernian.
The Dons were confident of selling a 50 per cent allocation given they took 43,000 supporters to Celtic Park when they last won the League Cup in 2014 by beating Inverness in the final.
Aberdeen had reason to be confident going into the second leg of the Europa League play-offs after a stunning comeback from two goals down in Gothenburg, but they could not repeat the trick at Pittodrie as they fell to a 5-3 aggregate defeat.
The Dons were chasing the game after the impressive Ibrahim Sadiq’s first-half double and could not build on Bojan Miovski’s penalty with the same player missing a glorious chance.
Amor Layouni’s spot-kick at the other end sealed victory for the Swedish champions with 15 minutes left and consigned Aberdeen to the Europa Conference League.
Robson said: “It was a brilliant performance from my players. I was so pleased with them.
“That’s a top team, and you’ll all have seen that with the front players they have got who are about to move for millions of pounds.
“We were so brave against them, and I believe we should have gone through over the tie with the amount of chances we created against them. Obviously they created chances too.
“I felt the stadium was brilliant, and the team looked like it suited each other. I’m just frustrated because of the chances we missed.
“They had one counter-attack and a wonder goal in the first half. We don’t want to sit in here, we want to have a go – and we did that.
“We could sit here and talk about a multitude of chances and that was credit to the way the boys played. They were a real good watch.
“I think the defenders played well, but the players they were up against were excellent.
“When we come up against top teams, we’re not going to go gung-ho, and you could see towards the end of last season we were built on structure. Tonight is the first time a lot of the players have played together, and you have to get that cohesion and structure.”
On-loan midfield duo Leighton Clarkson and Graeme Shinnie had the Dons on easy street with first-half goals either side of Thierry Small’s red card, and Shinnie added a third early in the second half.
After a cagey opening, Clarkson opened the scoring from 20 yards as he curled an unstoppable free-kick past Trevor Carson at the near post after Greg Kiltie had bundled over Jonny Hayes.
Much of the play was in midfield, but St Mirren’s Curtis Main and Alex Gogic both went close with headers in the space of 60 seconds midway through the first half.
But the Buddies were reduced to 10 men on the half-hour as Small’s wild challenge on Dons striker Bojan Miovski left the North Macedonian striker stricken, and after a yellow card was initially brandished by referee Don Robertson, a VAR check saw that upgraded to red.
Aberdeen were undeterred by Miovski’s injury and after Carson parried a Luis Lopes strike, Ross McCrorie just failed to get enough on the follow-up to beat the St Mirren keeper.
But they doubled their lead two minutes from the break as Carson inexplicably scooped a Marley Watkins cross into the air and Shinnie gratefully accepted the gift to nod home from close range.
Shinnie was at it again four minutes after the interval as he netted his second, a rare right-footed strike after Ylber Ramadani’s cutback, but again Carson should have done much better in his attempt to block the effort.
St Mirren threatened from a set-piece of their own 20 yards out but Ryan Strain’s whipped effort was well held by Kelle Roos.
And Roos again stood firm after a mix-up between Angus MacDonald and Liam Scales let Main in behind the Dons defence, but there was no way past the Dutch goalkeeper.
Aberdeen were getting lax at the back against the 10 men and with 15 minutes left Roos was again called into action, this time to beat away Mark O’Hara’s curled effort from the edge of the area.
Watkins and McCrorie passed up late chances to add a fourth for the Dons, but the hosts sent their fans home happy with European football next season guaranteed.
The cinch League 2 bottom side hit the post before goals in each half from Bojan Miovski and Nicky Devlin saw Barry Robson’s side put their name in the hat for Sunday night’s fifth-round draw.
The Dons suffered the worst defeat in their history at this stage of last season’s tournament when they lost 1-0 against seventh-tier Darvel. That result, plus a 6-0 loss against Hibernian five days later, saw Jim Goodwin depart and Robson installed as manager, initially on an interim basis.
Robson had faced some pressure himself before three wins from the last four cinch Premiership games heading into the winter break saw the Dons move up to eighth. The Dons manager picked the same team and formation that helped them beat Ross County earlier this month, persisting with a back four.
There would still have been some trepidation among the Dons fans who headed to Hamilton and possibly some flashbacks to 361 days ago in Ayrshire when Clyde hit the frame of the goal midway through the first half.
It was the first time Ian McCall’s side had attacked with numbers and front pair Martin Rennie and Connor Young combined well on the edge of the box before the latter curled a shot off the foot of the post with Kelle Roos beaten.
Aberdeen had dominated possession until then without threatening but they came close moments later when Dante Polvara’s effort took a major deflection and spun just wide.
The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute after Jamie McGrath turned and crossed from the left side of the box. Devlin chested into path of Miovski who guided a first-time effort into the corner of the net from 12 yards.
The North Macedonia international volleyed against the bar just before the break following McGrath’s lofted pass and Aberdeen continued to dominate after the interval.
Leighton Clarkson twice threatened from long range either side of referee Euan Anderson waving away penalty claims when Darren Hynes appeared to haul down McGrath.
The visitors soon had their two-goal cushion when Polvara set up Devlin to fire into the far corner as Aberdeen attacked with pace in the 57th minute.
Clyde briefly threatened to make a game of it when Ji Stevenson had a shot blocked and Craig Howie volleyed over after the resulting corner.
Shayden Morris missed an excellent late chance at the other end, although only after Anderson played on despite Clyde defender Peter Grant being left on the ground with a facial injury after being forearm-smashed by Pape Gueye.
Clubs are set to vote on controversial plans to introduce a Conference League between the Scottish Professional Football League and the Lowland and Highland leagues which would include B teams.
Hearts, Celtic and Rangers all have second-string sides in the Lowland League as it stands and Aberdeen were expected to join them in putting themselves forward.
But the Dons have decided the opportunity does not make financial or sporting sense for them.
The Dons revealed that all 42 clubs had been invited to express interest in enrolling B teams, mostly comprised of Scottish under-21 players, alongside two Highland League clubs and four Lowland League sides in the new set-up.
Chief executive Alan Burrows said in a statement: “We spent considerable time assessing the impact on our player development strategy, including the player pathway, and reviewed the cost/benefit of entering a B team in the Conference League.
“We also took account of feedback from other stakeholders, supporters and considered the decades-long relationships we’ve had with junior and Highland League clubs, including clubs who are now established in the SPFL.
“The player pathway challenge we would face with a team in the fifth tier is that ‘one size does not fit all’.
“We have young players who need experience at higher levels in the pyramid. To accommodate that, and have a full-time B team, we would need to have around 55 full-time players. We estimated additional annual costs of around £400,000.
“While we have said no to the SPFL and Scottish FA about entering the proposed Conference League in 2024-25, we are keen to explore other options such as a strategic partnership with another SPFL club, where expanding some of the loan regulations would be key to ensuring Aberdeen FC continues to be one of the best developers of young talent in the country.
“We will therefore continue to push our best young talent to our first team as quickly as possible, along with using the loan market to provide player pathway experience, which has been impactful for the club over many years.”
Conference League plans have been met with widespread opposition below the SPFL given that about 200 clubs will effectively be relegated to a lower tier of the pyramid under the proposals.
The football authorities have not published details on the proposals but the initial plan would be that any B teams could neither be promoted nor relegated.
The plans will go before member clubs at next month’s SFA annual general meeting.
The Dons have played eight matches in continental competition this term – home and away against Hacken, PAOK Salonika, Eintracht Frankfurt and HJK Helsinki.
Although they have now exited the Europa Conference League, the Pittodrie side took heart from the way they performed in most of their matches and in particular from Thursday’s campaign-concluding 2-0 victory at home to the German side, just days after they had thrashed Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich 5-1.
Manager Robson feels being involved in such box-office encounters will help his team as they prepare for their biggest match of the season so far at Hampden this weekend.
“The one thing I know about this squad is they have been away at some big stadiums, Frankfurt, PAOK and they lost in the last minute here against PAOK so they’ve been used to the big occasion,” he said on Friday.
“They’ve got a good mentality about them. Being a cup final, all the European games will have helped with that, to be able to play in big games.
“They’ve got some really big games under their belts now so that’s going to be a real positive.”
Robson played for the Dons when they won their last trophy after defeating Inverness on penalties in the League Cup final at Celtic Park in March 2014.
After being handed the reins at Pittodrie earlier this year, he’d love to repeat the feat as a manager.
“It would be great, wouldn’t it,” said the 45-year-old. “It was the first time in 19 years when we won it and they’re memories that always stay with you.
“I said to the players after the European campaign, when you’ve long-retired and you sit and think back, it’s the European games and the cup finals you’ll remember, so just make sure you give everything on the day and try to be the best version of yourself on the pitch.
“We managed to finish third (last season), we played in the group stages in Europe and winning a cup is something we really want to do.
“I just want to see the players and the fans and everyone at the club being happy at winning a cup.”
Aberdeen have taken four points from their two cinch Premiership meetings with Rangers this term, but Robson is braced for a formidable test against Philippe Clement’s team, who are buoyed by their 3-2 Europa League win away to Real Betis on Thursday.
“We know it’s going to be difficult against a proper Rangers team. We know we’re the underdogs,” he said.
“We should never fear them, but we massively respect Rangers. They’re a huge football club with some really good players.
“But we don’t fear anything and we don’t fear anyone.”
Robson declined to confirm whether or not star striker Bojan Miovski would be available after the North Macedonia international sat out Thursday’s win over Frankfurt with a minor hamstring injury.
“He was alright this morning,” said the manager. “Obviously we’ve still got another training session to go tomorrow so we’ll see how he is then and we can go from there.”
Hamraoui is the Paris Saint-Germain footballer who was struck with an iron bar by masked attackers outside her home on November 4.
Police investigations into that attack are reported to have led to the discovery of a link between Hamraoui and Abidal, in the shape of a phone chip in Abidal's name being used by Hamraoui.
According to a widely referenced statement from Hayet Abidal's lawyer, Nicolas Cellupica, that was first released to the AFP news agency, the discovery of the phone chip prompted the former footballer to admit he had strayed.
The 42-year-old has now asked his wife to forgive him.
Hamraoui was a member of Barcelona's women's team when Abidal was director of football at the Spanish club from 2018 to 2020, and she moved to PSG in July of this year.
Abidal wrote on Instagram on Tuesday: "Hayet Abidal forgive me. Whatever your decision, you will remain in my eyes the woman of my life, and especially the mother of our wonderful children.
"I deserve this humiliation even if it kills me alive. El hamdouli'allah. An sha' allah one day you will forgive me."
Hamraoui is recovering from the attack for which her PSG team-mate Aminata Diallo was initially considered a suspect.
Diallo has since been released without charge, having strenuously insisted she is innocent of any wrongdoing as police investigations continue.
Hamraoui has not made a public comment on the claims she and Abidal had a relationship.
Abo Eisa was at the double for Grimsby – scoring in each half – as Salford midfielder Ossama Ashley saw red upon the restart for two bookable offences.
Chances were few and far between in the opening stages, but Grimsby managed to break the deadlock after 20 minutes when Eisa struck first-time and saw a 25-yarder fly past goalkeeper Alex Cairns via a deflection.
Adrian Mariappa and Curtis Tilt both took aim in reply, but a routine save from Jake Eastwood and last-ditch block from Luke Waterfall thwarted them as Conor McAleny dragged wide the best chance for a Salford equaliser.
Ashley was shown two yellow cards – one either side of the break – and his dismissal left Salford with a mountain to climb.
Grimsby pushed and probed for a second and it came with 25 minutes left to play as winger Eisa cut inside and slotted neatly into the far corner.
