Jamie McGrath’s double helped Aberdeen into the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals and gave manager Neil Warnock a much-needed lift as the Dons beat Kilmarnock 3-1.
McGrath hit an early opener and rounded off the scoring during a comfortable second half for the home side at Pittodrie.
Graeme Shinnie had put the Dons two ahead and Kilmarnock could not make the most of the lifeline afforded by Danny Armstrong’s strike late in the first half.
Warnock had faced questions about his future ahead of the game after failing to net a win in his first six cinch Premiership matches. A run of 10 games without a league victory in total sees the Dons in third-bottom place and Killie have taken nine points off them this season.
But Aberdeen had not lost in 13 previous Scottish Cup meetings with Killie and the cups continue to be a bright spot in Aberdeen’s difficult league campaign, with the victory sealing a third trip to Hampden so far.
Aberdeen’s 11th-minute opener came as a result of a long ball from Stefan Gartenmann, which was just too high for Stuart Findlay to properly head clear.
Bojan Miovski’s backheel put Junior Hoilett in behind and McGrath was on hand to knock home the rebound after Will Dennis stopped the winger’s shot.
Kilmarnock responded well. The visitors claimed for handball in the box from Gartenmann but referee John Beaton and video assistant Andrew Dallas were both unconvinced.
Kyle Vassell volleyed over on the turn and both Liam Donnelly and Findlay failed to hit the target from free headers.
Aberdeen doubled their lead in the 33rd minute after Hoilett took a quick throw and crossed. Miovski laid the ball back for Shinnie, who had run off the back of Vassell, and the Dons captain sent a powerful strike into the roof of the net via a deflection off Donnelly.
Cheered on by a full away end in the 10,879 crowd, the visitors got back into the game eight minutes later when Vassell got past Nicky Devlin and cut the ball back for Armstrong to sweep into the net first time.
Killie midfielder Liam Polworth hit a powerful shot straight at Kelle Roos before the break but the Ayrshire side could not maintain their pressure after the interval.
Aberdeen dealt well with some sporadic set-pieces and restored their two-goal lead in the 66th minute.
Left-back Jack MacKenzie overlapped and cut the ball back for McGrath to guide a shot home off the head of Findlay.
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes had replaced David Watson with Fraser Murray at half-time but he waited until the 76th minute before looking to change the second half from his bench. Former Aberdeen pair Greg Stewart and Gary Mackay-Steven came on along with James Balagizi.
There was no immediate transformation and Dennis saved well from Miovski before McInnes made his last roll of the dice, bringing on Innes Cameron ahead of Kevin van Veen.
But there was no way back for Killie and Warnock received a warm ovation as he celebrated with his players on the pitch.
Pochettino says Chelsea in 'most challenging period' ahead of Spurs reunion
Mauricio Pochettino says facing his former club Tottenham will always be "emotional", but his full focus is on guiding Chelsea through a testing period ahead of Thursday's London derby at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino enjoyed a successful five-year stint with Spurs between 2014 and 2019, leading them to a Champions League final and to three straight top-three Premier League finishes.
He has found the going more difficult since taking over a Chelsea side still going through a transitional period under the Todd Boehly regime, with the big-spending Blues sitting ninth in the Premier League table.
Chelsea did beat Tottenham 4-1 in a memorable return fixture in November, meaning Pochettino could become the first coach to complete a Premier League double over Spurs having previously managed them in the competition.
"It will be emotional coming up against people who I worked with for a long period. I can't hide my emotion for the club," Pochettino told reporters on Wednesday.
"But across 90 minutes we want to win and Tottenham are going to come here to try and win."
Chelsea are five points adrift of the top seven with a game in hand, and Pochettino believes the club are taking the first steps on a path similar to that followed by his Spurs team.
"Tottenham was amazing because the challenge was to create a team that could compete with top sides," he added.
"Now at Chelsea, we are in the process of building an exciting project that needs time and this is maybe the most challenging period."
Tottenham are in desperate need of points if they are to reel in Aston Villa and secure a top-four finish, having suffered back-to-back defeats against Newcastle United (0-4) and Arsenal (2-3).
Despite their recent slide, Ange Postecoglou is in no doubt that his team have made big strides this term, saying: "What I see is us playing football, measuring ourselves against the best.
"My players have got real belief in what we are doing. That's all I need to see."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea – Cole Palmer
Palmer, whose tally of 20 Premier League goals this term has only been bettered by Erling Haaland (21), has scored hat-tricks in each of his last two home games, netting three goals against Manchester United and four versus Everton.
The only player to ever score three or more goals in three straight home Premier League matches is Haaland, who did so against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and United last season.
Tottenham – Guglielmo Vicario
Vicario failed to command his area from corners as Arsenal scored twice from such situations in last week's North London derby, and it's an area in which the Italian needs to improve.
Only United (15.3) and Burnley (14.9) have allowed their opponents a higher cumulative expected goals (xG) figure from set-piece situations than Tottenham's 14.3 in the Premier League this season, though Chelsea's tally of 83 shots from dead-balls is a league-low number.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Chelsea have a great record against their London rivals, recording 34 Premier League wins over Spurs. Only United have beaten them more often in the competition, with 39 victories.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have only lost one of the last 33 league meetings between the sides, going down 3-1 in April 2018 when Pochettino was in the Tottenham dugout.
Tottenham are looking to avoid suffering three straight Premier League defeats for the second time this season, having also done so in November – a run which began with their 4-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against Chelsea.
Postecoglou's men could think themselves unfortunate on that occasion, though, missing several good chances to get back into the game despite being reduced to nine men by red cards for Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie.
One thing is for certain – goals should be expected. Chelsea have already conceded 59 Premier League goals this term, their most in a single campaign in the competition, while Spurs have shipped 52 and failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six matches. An entertaining draw could be on the cards.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chelsea – 39.9%
Tottenham – 32.6%
Draw 27.5%
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
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