Aberdeen eased their way into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Bonnyrigg Rose as interim manager Neil Warnock made his Pittodrie bow.
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The visitors tightened up to avoid the score becoming an embarrassment and they would have been relieved to see Miovski withdrawn at the hour mark, although not before he had forced a smart save from Martin.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.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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