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.
San Jose Earthquakes v Orlando City: Gonzalez certain things will turn
The San Jose Earthquakes may sit bottom of the Western Conference standings ahead of Saturday's clash with Orlando City, but Luchi Gonzalez is certain they will be just fine.
The 'Quakes saw their mini revival halted by a 4-2 loss to the Portland Timbers in midweek, having previously won three straight games across all competitions.
Their 10 points are fewer than all MLS teams except the New England Revolution (seven) have won this season, but Gonzalez has seen positive signs.
"We're going to be fine. This is a great group, and they continue to fight for each other. It's hard when we drop points," he said.
"I expect nothing but a fire in their belly and a response against Orlando and then in the next one, and it's really fun and exciting to coach this team.
"These guys work for each other and they want to keep getting better, and I'm confident they will keep getting better as the season continues."
Orlando have also made a stuttering start, earning 13 points from 12 games to sit 11th in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Lions did shut out a Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami side in a goalless draw on Wednesday, though, and midfielder Wilder Cartagena has seen signs of progress.
"Especially in the last few games, we've been showing ourselves to be more dangerous and attacking," Cartagena said.
"It's similar to how we were in the last half of last year but obviously there are a couple of minor adjustments that we have to make. I think we are playing a lot better in that area."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
San Jose Earthquakes – Amahl Pellegrino
Pellegrino has scored in three straight games, becoming the first San Jose player to do so in MLS play since Cristian Espinoza between July and August last year (four straight).
It's Pellegrino's first time scoring in three straight league matches since he netted in four in a row for Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in 2023.
Orlando City – Cesar Araujo
Orlando allowed 29 shots against the Philadelphia Union last Saturday but just seven against Miami on Wednesday. It was the first time in their MLS history that Orlando faced at least 20 fewer shots from one game to the next.
Araujo protected the backline admirably in midweek and will look to do likewise again here.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The home side has never lost in six all-time meetings between San Jose and Orlando.
The first three meetings were all drawn before the hosts won each of the last three, with San Jose winning at home in 2019 and Orlando recording home wins in 2018 and 2021.
After their midweek stalemate against Miami, Orlando have been shut out five times in league play this season. That is tied for the most in MLS in 2024, while their six times being held scoreless in all competitions this term also equals the most by any MLS outfit.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
San Jose Earthquakes – 38.4%
Orlando City – 33.4%
Draw – 28.2%
Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak
Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.
Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.
That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.
"It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.
"We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better.
"From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."
Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.
Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.
"The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said.
"The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of.
The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.
Montreal - Joel Waterman
Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.
They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.
Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.
Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto - 39.6%
Draw - 28.5%
Montreal - 31.9%
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
