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.
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford: Two-goal Gray rescues point for Rooney's side
Andre Gray scored twice against his former club to salvage a point for struggling Plymouth Argyle as they drew 2-2 with Watford on Friday.
Gray curled in an equaliser in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to seal a crucial point for Wayne Rooney's side in their bid for survival in the Championship.
The visitors made a quick start at Home Park when Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo bundled in a cross from Yasser Larouci only eight minutes in.
Plymouth did, however, equalise against the run of play in the 23rd minute when Lewis Gibson's long ball into the box was met with a spectacular volley from Gray.
Watford regained the lead before the break when Imran Louza's free-kick was knocked back by Mattie Pollock, with centre-back Ryan Porteous on hand to steer the ball home.
But just as it looked like Watford would go home with all three points, Gray picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired home a stunning effort beyond Daniel Bachmann.
Tom Cleverley's Watford sit in fifth place and trail leaders Sunderland by five points, while Plymouth are 17th with 17 points from 16 matches.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Toulouse: Neves stars in comfortable home win
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday.
Following Monaco's 3-2 win over Brest earlier in the day, Luis Enrique's side responded emphatically to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
After a dominant start, PSG got themselves ahead in stunning fashion when Achraf Hakimi's cross was brilliantly driven first-time into the bottom corner by Joao Neves.
But Toulouse provided a threat after the break and should have drawn level in the 70th minute through Shavy Babicka, but he fired over with only Matvey Safonov to beat.
That mistake ultimately proved costly with the hosts doubling their advantage eight minutes from time when Beraldo took advantage of some poor defending to finish inside the box.
The triumph was sealed in the first minute of second-half stoppage time through substitute Vitinha, who danced into the box before finishing high into the corner from close range.
Luis Enrique's side will now turn their attentions to the Champions League, with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich awaiting on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Party in Paris
PSG's dominance in Ligue 1 continued on Friday, with Luis Enrique's side now having lost just one of their last 41 matches in the top-flight (W30 D10).
Neves was a particular standout for the hosts, winning more duels (nine), registering the joint-most shots on target (two) and the joint-most final third entries (seven) during the game.
Despite the scoreline, PSG were perhaps fortunate to emerge victorious. Though Luis Enrique's side accumulated 17 shots to Toulouse's 11, it was the visitors who ended the contest with a higher expected goals (xG) total, managing 1.39 to the Parisiens' 1.35.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
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