Aberdeen have been left disappointed after being handed 19,000 tickets for their Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final – less than the Hampden allocation Hearts have received.

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.

Hearts head coach Steven Naismith believes their recent progress and hunger for trophies will give them a chance against Rangers at Hampden after his side booked a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final place with a 1-0 win over Morton at Cappielow.

Naismith’s side were immediately handed a repeat of their Viaplay Cup semi-final, which Rangers won 3-1 in November, in the draw for the last four.

Hearts are looking to reach their fourth Scottish Cup final in six years, but Naismith and his players are determined to go one better and seal their first triumph in the tournament since 2012.

Naismith said: “Fortunately we have been in a semi-final before this season so we have got to use that. And we will look forward to it, you work hard to get through the rounds to get to the latter stages.

“We have had a good bit of progression since the last semi-final, we want to progress again and give ourselves a chance to win it.

“You have got to have that demand and hunger to win trophies and we are building that, so hopefully we can have a good day.”

Naismith’s side survived some pressure at Cappielow and advanced thanks to an angled drive from Kenneth Vargas in the 86th minute.

“Coming away from home at probably one of the toughest grounds you will go to, we know what it was going to be like,” he said.

“It was about taking the emotion out of the game and having a clear picture out of possession when they are going to be a bit direct – every throw-in, corner, set-play was going to get a reaction from the crowd. It was about understanding that and not panicking, which I thought we did really well.

“We should have scored earlier, but the key was patience. Our control of the ball, especially the second half, was really good, which ultimately led to three or four good chances.”

Hearts needed goalkeeper Craig Gordon to be at his best and the 41-year-old made three impressive saves to keep his first clean sheet since recovering from a double leg break.

“I’ve said it all along, he’s back to where he was before,” Naismith said. “He’s worked really hard, got a drive and his experience in coming for balls and taking the pressure off is invaluable. But it is brilliant to have two great goalies.”

Morton manager Dougie Imrie felt his side deserved to be heading to Hampden.

Imrie said: “I stand here extremely proud of them. At times we went toe to toe with a top Premiership team.

“They will know themselves they are lucky to be in the semi-finals. I thought we deserved to be in there, but unfortunately we just fell short.”

Morton’s focus now turns to staying in the cinch Championship’s top four and sealing a play-off place.

“We are in a great position,” Imrie said. “We have a tough game on Saturday away at Partick, but after that we’ve got two or three games on the bounce at home and we have to take advantage of that.”

Kenneth Vargas hit a late winner as Hearts came through a difficult encounter at Cappielow to reach the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals.

The Coast Rican forward fired home in the 86th minute to secure a 1-0 victory over Morton, who had been denied several times by some impressive Craig Gordon saves.

Hearts began to find their attacking form in the final half hour and Vargas powered home a low angled drive after Beni Baningime drove forward and fed Lawrence Shankland.

The victory seals a second semi-final for Steven Naismith’s side this season and leaves them 90 minutes away from a potential fourth Scottish Cup final in six seasons.

The match pitted two of Scotland’s recent in-form sides against each other. Morton had gone on a 16-match unbeaten run, which took them from bottom of the cinch Championship into the promotion play-off places, before suffering home defeats against Inverness and Dundee United in their previous two matches.

Although manager Dougie Imrie had lost the likes of George Oakley, Iain Wilson and Jai Quitongo since the fifth-round win over Motherwell, former Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot returned from injury to take his place in the back three.

Hearts had won 12 of their previous 15 games and had Vargas back in their line-up after the attacker missed their victory over Celtic.

Morton signalled their intent to test Hearts in the air when Lewis Strapp hurled an early throw-in into the box from 10 yards inside the visiting half.

Another ball into the Hearts box drew the first chance as Gordon used his frame to block Darragh O’Connor’s header following an Alan Power free-kick.

The away supporters had to wait until the half-hour mark before seeing their team come close – Shankland’s first-time shot on the turn was pushed wide by Ryan Mullen.

Alan Forrest saw two efforts deflected wide and Morton were forced deep in the latter stages of the half, but Gordon had to watch Robbie Muirhead’s free-kick as it bounced into his arms.

Both sides stepped up their attacking threat at the start of the second half.

Morton had some initial pressure, but Hearts midfielder Baningime missed the chance of the game so far when he sent a free header over the crossbar from Stephen Kingsley’s cross.

The home side responded by creating two equally strong opportunities.

Gordon pulled off excellent stops from Jack Baird’s header and Strapp’s effort after the left-back had burst into the box.

Mullen was also impressing in the opposite goal and he produced a diving save from Cammy Devlin’s strike from 18 yards.

The game had the sort of edge expected of the occasion and former Morton loan star Shankland was booked for pushing Strapp to the ground in front of the “cowshed” as the home fans shouted for David Dickinson to wave a red card.

The Scotland striker was being watched by international manager Steve Clarke ahead of him naming his latest squad and he set up Vargas for an excellent chance after initially looking like he might get in behind himself.

Vargas had time to pick his spot from 10 yards, but lifted the ball on to the top of the bar and over.

Shankland then set up Aidan Denholm but the substitute shot straight at Mullen, who trapped the ball between his legs.

The skipper would have a major say in the winner though as he collected Baningime’s pass and allowed Vargas to take over.

Nick Montgomery was pleased to report Martin Boyle is stable in hospital after injury curtailed his part in nine-man Hibernian’s 2-0 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup defeat by Rangers at Easter Road.

Midfielder John Lundstram bundled in the opener in the 23rd minute after goalkeeper David Marshall had saved a penalty from captain James Tavernier before Boyle was taken away on a stretcher after landing following a duel with defender John Souttar.

Hibs defender Jordan Obita was sent off in the 68th minute for picking up the second of two yellow cards for using an arm to stop substitute Rabbi Matondo before Nathan Moriah-Welsh was shown a straight red by referee Steven McLean three minutes later for a two-footed challenge on Lundstram.

Striker Fabio Silva added a second as Rangers joined Aberdeen and Celtic in the semi-final draw, with Championship side Morton hosting Hearts on Monday night.

Hibs boss Montgomery gave a positive post-match update on Boyle, saying: “I’ve just had a report that Martin is stable and that’s the most important thing.

“Football is just a game and while Martin’s an important player for us, he’s a human being too.

“I think it’s a bit of concussion and maybe a little bit of neck pain. Fingers crossed he makes a speedy recovery because he was in a bit of pain.”

Montgomery was unimpressed with Lundstram’s reaction to Moriah-Welsh’s tackle.

He said: “I haven’t seen Jordan’s incident to be honest. I know he was on a yellow. He tried to hold Matondo off but apparently he’s caught him on the back of the head with his arm.

“Jordan is an experienced player so, if he has done something that is deemed a yellow card, you don’t want that.

“Nathan is just 21 years old, he’s new to first-team football. And, to be honest, it was right in front of me.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for John Lundstram. He’s a top, top player. But I thought the way he went down, Nathan didn’t catch him.

“I’ve seen that one back and he’s gone across him to try to block him playing a ball down the line, probably knock it out for a throw-in. But John has gone down.

“And the referee was very quick to give the card. To be honest, I was really surprised he didn’t go to the VAR monitor to have a look, considering it was three metres from where the incident happened.”

Rangers boss Philippe Clement called for “reckless” tackles to be taken out of the game as he discussed Moriah-Welsh’s red card.

He said: “If you put a hand or an arm in the face you can get a yellow, that everybody knows.

“The (Moriah-Welsh) tackle was a few yards away from me. It is a reckless tackle with the studs in front and it doesn’t matter then if you break a leg or not.

“It is just reckless. I think it is important to get that kind of tackle out of the game.

“In the last couple of weeks sometimes when we didn’t get the red card and I was not happy about that.

“I think tackles like that are not good for Scottish football, English football, Belgian football, German football. Players need to know if you tackle like that you get a red card.

“It is for nobody good because it is a danger to injure someone if you go in like that.”

The Belgian was frustrated with Dujon Sterling and his replacement Ross McCausland having to come off and both will be assessed ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League last-16 game against Benfica at Ibrox, with the tie balanced at 2-2 following last week’s game in Lisbon.

Ryan Jack, Abdallah Sima, Oscar Cortes, Kieran Dowell and Danilo are also carrying injuries.

Clement said: “I am not happy, of course, that Dujon and Ross had to come off. It is not a good thing.

“We are going to see in the next couple of days if they are going to be available for Thursday or not.”

Rangers booked their place in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over nine-man Hibernian at Easter Road.

Midfielder John Lundstram bundled in the opener in the 23rd minute after Hibs keeper David Marshall had saved a penalty from captain James Tavernier.

Hibs attacker Martin Boyle was taken to hospital with an injury following a duel with defender John Souttar and Philippe Clement’s side wobbled at the start of the second half, looking weary after their battling 2-2 draw with Benfica in the Europa League in Lisbon on Thursday night.

However, Hibernian defender Jordan Obita was sent off in the 68th minute for picking up the second of two yellow cards for a foul on Rabbi Matondo before Nathan Moriah-Welsh was shown a straight red by referee Steven McLean three minutes later for a foul on Lundstram.

Portuguese striker Fabio Silva added a second in the 83rd minute to take Rangers into the last-four draw along with Aberdeen and Celtic, with Championship side Morton hosting Hearts on Monday night.

However, there were more injuries for Clement to deal with Dujon Sterling and his replacement Ross McCausland going off during a pulsating game.

Hibs defender Chris Cadden made his first start of the season after his long-term injury absence with midfielder Nectar Triantis also coming in, as injured Lewis Miller and Dylan Vente dropped out.

Despite their European exertions, the visitors were unchanged with Cyriel Dessers and Silva in attack with the former knocking a cross from left-back Ridvan Yilmaz past the near post after 13 minutes of a frenetic beginning.

Moments later, Jack Butland almost got caught dribbling along his six-yard box by attacker Myziane Maolida, the ball coming off the post after a tackle and ricocheting off the keeper for a corner which came to nothing.

Then Dessers robbed hesitant Obita down the left flank and drove into the box but his angled-drive was blocked by Marshall for a corner which was defended.

Obita compounded his error in the 21st minute when he tripped Sterling inside the penalty area leaving referee McLean with little option but to point to the spot.

Tavernier’s driven penalty was parried out by Marshall but Lundstram was quicker than the Hibs defenders to react and forced the ball over the line from a few yards out.

Marshall then saved a powerful drive from Sterling minutes later before the Light Blues utility player pulled up with what looked like a hamstring problem and had to be replaced by McCausland.

Hibs had their own injury concerns soon afterwards when Boyle and Souttar collided in an aerial duel just outside the Rangers penalty area and the winger, after a lengthy stoppage, was taken from the field on a stretcher, his place taken by Elie Youan.

The visitors had to withstand sustained pressure when the game resumed and after Rangers defender Connor Goldson fouled Emiliano Marcondes 30 yards out, the Hibs forward forced a fine diving save from Butland with his curling free-kick.

Then substitute McCausland limped off to be replaced by Matondo, with Kemar Roofe on for Dessers, before the hosts were reduced to 10 men when Obita, already booked for a foul on Tom Lawrence, saw a second yellow for a tackle on Matondo with Moriah-Welsh following him minutes later after scything down Lundstram.

And it was the former Sheffield United midfielder who set up Silva to rifle in Rangers’ second from 14 yards to settle an eventful cup tie and secure a last-four place at Hampden Park.

It could have been more, substitute Cole McKinnon having the ball in the net in added time only to see the offside flag up.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers understood why his side did not reach their peak in a tricky Scottish Gas Scottish Cup tie against Livingston after Cameron Carter-Vickers joined Callum McGregor on the sidelines on the eve of the game.

Celtic reached the semi-finals but it was more nervy than the 4-2 scoreline suggested with Livingston twice equalising through Daniel MacKay and Tete Yengi before Daizen Maeda completed his hat-trick in the 86th minute and substitute Kyogo Furuhashi netted deep in stoppage time.

Celtic again missed skipper McGregor, who hopes to return from an Achilles issue after the international break, and vice-captain Carter-Vickers was left out as a precaution amid concern over the troublesome hamstring which has forced the defender out for several lay-offs this season.

Rodgers was also without the suspended Yang Hyun-jun and injured Luis Palma along with long-term absentee Reo Hatate.

The Celtic boss praised Nicolas Kuhn for his creativity and fellow winger Maeda for his finishing, but added: “We didn’t close the spaces anywhere near what we would want and the speed of our game wasn’t what we would want. But I am understanding of that, some of the guys coming in and also the level of players who were missing.

“The players deserve credit, some hadn’t played a lot, Matt O’Riley was ill all week, Stephen Welsh came in at the last minute, Nicolas had one of his first games. There was a bit of disruption, but the guys got the job done.”

Rodgers admitted Celtic gave away “poor goals”, and added: “I think you see whenever Cam is not in the team – with the greatest of respect – the security in the team.

“I don’t have any fears when we have those guys back. I just think there’s a moment in any team when you are missing your best players then you will maybe not be as tight as you want to be.”

The Celtic manager explained the centre-back’s latest absence.

“We were just going through something very, very light and he made a pass and felt something in the back of his leg,” he said.

“He continued to train but we didn’t want to take any risk whatsoever because as much as he wants to play every game, we had this earlier in the season when he said he was OK and then we ended up losing him for more matches. So hopefully it’s nothing too serious, but we had to take the precaution.”

Rodgers also stated that the level McGregor brings to the game to is “beyond what a lot of our players can do”.

“To be fair, it’s a bit like Jamesy Forrest coming into the game, what a joy to see someone come in for that 25 minutes with that quality and the football idea he brought to the game,” Rodgers said.

“Callum is a player that is important for us, so fingers crossed again we can get to the bottom of that and he’ll be available after the international break.”

Livingston manager David Martindale bemoaned a Joe Hart save from Michael Nottingham’s header at 2-2 and hopes his players can take heart from their display as they bid to overturn a six-point deficit at the foot of the cinch Premiership.

“I’m pretty proud of them albeit we’re out of the cup,” he said.

“It’s been a painful season and we’re on a torrid run. I don’t need self-belief, but I can only hope the players take a wee bit of self-belief.

“I thought they were very good in the game, it would have been easy to come here and accept a 3-0 or 4-0 but they didn’t do that. They played on the front foot and managed the game reasonably well.”

Daizen Maeda marked his 100th Celtic appearance with a match-winning hat-trick as the holders saw off a spirited challenge from Livingston to reach the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals.

Maeda put Celtic ahead for the third time in the 86th minute to take his tally for the club to 27 goals after the cinch Premiership bottom side had twice equalised at Celtic Park through Daniel MacKay and Tete Yengi.

Substitute Kyogo Furuhashi was on target deep into stoppage time as Celtic sealed a 4-2 triumph.

Celtic missed both Callum McGregor and Cameron Carter-Vickers through injury, but they did just enough to seal a Hampden trip next month.

Carter-Vickers was withdrawn as a precaution after the defender’s hamstring caused concern in training, while Luis Palma failed to shake off a knock, which allowed Nicolas Kuhn to make his first start at Celtic Park.

Livingston also had injury issues to contend with, mainly in midfield. Jason Holt dropped out through illness and Andrew Shinnie with a groin problem, while the cup-tied David Carson joined Scott Pittman on the sidelines.

David Martindale lined up with full-back Jamie Brandon and winger Steven Bradley as part of his central trio.

Celtic had an early warning when Ayo Obileye hit the post, although Willie Collum blew for a home free-kick.

Kuhn had already shown flashes of promise before setting up the seventh-minute opener with an excellent cross from the right.

Right-back Michael Nottingham allowed Maeda to go but the forward was level when the cross came in and he took a touch before finishing from six yards.

Livi levelled five minutes later after Cristian Montano’s ball in between Stephen Welsh and Alistair Johnston put MacKay in behind.

The winger, who scored against Celtic for Inverness in last year’s final, had time to wait for the ball to bounce before curling into the top corner.

Left-back Montano undid his good work 10 minutes later when he dithered in possession on the edge of his box after Livi appeared to have thwarted a dangerous counter-attack.

Matt O’Riley won the ball back and Maeda stooped to head home after Michael McGovern had stopped the midfielder’s shot.

Celtic had chances to enjoy a more comfortable half-time break with Adam Idah the biggest cuplrit, making a mess of two shooting chances when he got in behind, although he forced a good stop with a header.

McGovern also saved well from Maeda twice before the break and both the Japan international and Idah failed to convert a low cross from Kuhn after the interval.

Yengi stabbed Stephen Kelly’s cross just wide before netting Livingston’s second equaliser in the 54th minute.

O’Riley was caught in possession by Brandon on the halfway line and, although the Celtic midfielder got back to hold up Yengi, the striker turned and curled a brilliant finish into the far corner.

The home support were almost stunned further moments later when Nottingham’s header was stopped by Joe Hart’s foot on the line.

Celtic took time to react and McGovern was equal to efforts from Johnston and Kuhn when they got going.

Furuhashi, Daniel Kelly and James Forrest – making his first appearance of 2024 – came on and the latter added a spark before being involved in taking the lead for a third time.

The winger fed Tomoki Iwata’s run beyond and the Japanese midfielder’s low cross was tapped in by Maeda.

The attacker almost got his fourth, but hit the crossbar from close range and Furuhashi was played through in the closing seconds to slot home, which was initially denied, before a VAR review overturned an offside decision.

Neil Warnock advised Aberdeen to give a new manager time to assess the squad before the summer before stepping down immediately after leading the Dons to Hampden.

Warnock’s departure was announced soon after a 3-1 home victory over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

It was a second win in eight games for Warnock – the other came against Bonnyrigg Rose in the previous round – since he replaced the sacked Barry Robson on February 5.

That appointment was designed to last until the end of the season but Warnock leaves the club 10th in the cinch Premiership, four points above the danger zone.

Chairman Dave Cormack declared in a brief statement that the search for a long-term manager was at an “advanced stage”. Neil Lennon has emerged as the favourite in recent days after declaring his strong interest in the job.

First-team coach Peter Leven could be in charge for Wednesday’s Premiership clash at Dundee though, with Warnock bowing out immediately.

Warnock said in his final post-match press conference: “I said I’d try to help them out and give them my advice. My advice is to get a new manager in as soon as possible now.

“They’re well down the line and it needs an overhaul in the summer. There’s no use waiting until then and they’ve listened to me.

“I think he needs to have a couple of months looking at the squad now in depth. Because I think to be successful – and you can be successful with the right recruitment – they need a couple of months to assess it.

“I’m glad I’ve been able to get the fans to the semi-final and we deserved it because we were superior in every department. It was a really good way to end.

“I’m disappointed I won’t lead them out at Hampden but some lucky man will come in to do that.”

Warnock described his time at Pittodrie as “up and down”. He faced questions over his future after the Dons lost 2-1 against St Mirren the previous weekend despite leading with 95 minutes on the clock.

“I didn’t enjoy last week after the St Mirren game,” the former Sheffield United manager said. “I did think: ‘What am I doing here at 75’?

“But I knew I had to be the one to get everyone going on Monday because you don’t have time to dwell.”

Warnock’s departure was planned during a meeting with Cormack and chief executive Alan Burrows on Thursday.

“We had a chat and I thought it was the right time to bring someone else in,” he said. “They’re not far away. If it’s just one game or so, Peter will be okay.

“The lads know what they’re doing now. I felt it was the right time. I wanted to win and finish like that.

“That was the situation on Thursday. I told them how I felt and we’ve left amicably.”

Warnock will now possibly spend time at his holiday home in Dunoon and stated he might go to watch Morton in their quarter-final against Hearts on Monday, while he promised the Aberdeen players he will go to Hampden “for the final”.

But he would not rule out one last job, having come out of retirement last season to steer Huddersfield away from relegation danger.

When asked if this was the end, he said: “I’ve just been asked that and I said, ‘look, it’s the 16th time I’ve retired now’. I would say yes but who knows, when you get to my age you don’t know what’s around the corner – you just hope that you keep living.”

Jamie McGrath opened and closed the scoring and Graeme Shinnie netted on a day of mixed emotions for the captain – he picked up a late yellow card for dissent which will rule him out of the semi-final.

Danny Armstrong pulled a goal back for Killie late in the first half but they could not carve out any second-half chances.

The visitors missed winger Matty Kennedy through injury and could not bring on Kevin van Veen after the striker experienced a tight hamstring during the warm-up.

Manager Derek McInnes said: “We had a brilliant crowd here, expectations have been raised, but we never met that expectation and sometimes that’s the way it goes.”

Neil Warnock guided Aberdeen into the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals in what proved to be his final match as manager as the Dons beat Kilmarnock 3-1 at Pittodrie.

Warnock had faced questions about his future ahead of the game after failing to net a win in six cinch Premiership matches to leave the Dons third-bottom of the league.

It turned out his mind was made up regardless of the quarter-final outcome as he left on a high after Jamie McGrath’s double saw the 75-year-old record a second win in eight matches, having overseen a win over Bonnyrigg Rose in the previous round.

The Dons announced soon after the game that Warnock had stepped aside along with assistant Ronnie Jepson, having been appointed until the end of the season on February 5.

Chairman Dave Cormack said in a statement: “With the search for a new manager at an advanced stage, Peter Leven will assume control of all first team matters until the process is concluded.”

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.

Killie have taken nine points from Aberdeen this season but the Dons had not lost in 13 previous Scottish Cup meetings between the teams. 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.

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 Kyle Vassell, and the Dons captain sent a powerful strike into the roof of the net via a deflection off Liam 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.

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.

There was no way back for Killie and Miovski was denied by Dennis as Aberdeen finished the stronger side, although there was a late blow when Shinnie received a yellow card for dissent that rules him out of the semi-final.

Warnock received a warm ovation as he celebrated with his players on the pitch in what proved to be his farewell to the Dons fans.

Neil Warnock has stepped down as Aberdeen manager after guiding the club into the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals.

A 3-1 quarter-final victory over Kilmarnock proved to be the final match of the 75-year-old’s short spell in charge.

Warnock was handed the job until the end of the season after Barry Robson was sacked but did not enjoy a cinch Premiership win in six matches.

The Dons stated that Warnock had “stepped aside” and chairman Dave Cormack added on Aberdeen’s website: “The club would like to thank both Neil and Ronnie Jepson for their efforts.

“With the search for a new manager at an advanced stage, Peter Leven will assume control of all first team matters until the process is concluded.”

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.

Philippe Clement insists Rangers will park  encouraging European ambitions to concentrate on the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup tie against Hibernian on Sunday.

There is little respite for the Light Blues, who drew 2-2 with Benfica in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie in Lisbon on Thursday night, with the return game at Ibrox next week.

The cinch Premiership leaders are now preparing for the last-eight clash with the Hibees at Easter Road, where Clement believes their focus will be “200 per cent. No doubt about that”.

The Belgian boss, whose side beat Hibernian 4-0 at Ibrox in his first game in charge of the Govan club last October and 3-0 in Leith in January, said:  “My team have been working hard all season in that way and never stopped.

“Good proof is after the Real Betis game (in December), a few days later they had the Viaplay Cup final and they were there (won 1-0).

“My team is hungry to win more trophies and we know we need to play well against Hibs because they are really hungry to beat us, apparently.

“We are going to see how people recover for the next two days and we are going to go hard to get into the semi-final because it is important.

“I have read that they (Hibs) were really unlucky in their last two games against us. So they have a lot of belief, clearly.

“So it is about us getting a good result there and qualifying.”

Clement was proud of all of his players’ efforts in Lisbon but had special praise for Portuguese attacker Fabio Silva, on loan from Wolves, who returned to a club where he spent two years in the youth system and turned in a fine performance on the left-hand side.

He said: “Fabio is growing. He is still a young player at 21. We had a lot of talks before he came to Rangers about his role and the roles he could play.

“We talked about him as a striker and also playing on the left side, or even around the striker. He can do all these roles and he showed his quality in this game.

“You see he has integrated really quickly into the squad and feels really good within the club. He plays with a smile and gives a lot of energy to the team.

“He has his qualities and is taking more and more control of his emotions. We talked a lot about that, that it’s the next step for him to take.

“I am really happy about how he handled the game in Lisbon because it was a hostile situation with a lot of attention towards him. But he played for the team, to show everybody he’s a good player.

“He played to be good player for Rangers and that’s important to me.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has no regrets over his criticism of the match officials following last weekend’s defeat by Hearts after being hit with a Scottish Football Association disciplinary charge.

Rodgers faces a hearing on March 28 after being accused of breaching a rule which forbids criticising match officials “in such a way as to indicate bias or incompetence”.

The Northern Irishman claimed the “level of incompetence” made him worry for the game as he criticised the displays of referee Don Robertson and video assistant John Beaton in particular, with Yang Hyun-jun’s red card and a penalty for handball against Tomoki Iwata the key complaints.

Rodgers risks being banned from the touchline for Celtic’s cinch Premiership clash against Rangers on April 7 but, when asked if he had any regrets over his comments, he said: “No, not at all. My job is to defend the team, defend the club and that’s what we will do in this case.

“We will defend it vigorously and when the date comes we will go from there. I will sit down with the club and the lawyers and we will look at it from there.”

Rodgers added: “It was my observations over many games, primarily around the inconsistency of decisions.

“I never talk so much about referees and haven’t done over the course of my career. I understand they make mistakes. But I felt the ones last week were clear, clear errors.”

Celtic failed in an appeal over Yang’s red card for a high boot on Alex Cochrane, which was upgraded following a VAR review.

Rodgers said: “I have seen incidents worse than that, and I thought the on-field decision was correct, a yellow card.

“We had a report back that the studs and the boot was in the face of the player, which clearly a couple of days later when we get that report and it says that, it is clearly not the case when you watch it.”

Yang will be suspended for Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final against Livingston and fellow winger Luis Palma is a doubt with a knock.

Captain Callum McGregor will again sit out the game following an inconclusive scan after being troubled by pain in his Achilles/calf area.

“We had it in our mind anyway he would miss through until the international break and then take it from there,” Rodgers said.

“He travelled for the scan but nothing really showed up so much. We will assess it over the next couple of weeks. We will just have to see how that feels on a day-to-day basis really.

“It’s something he has felt most seasons of late, towards the back end of the season, but he has had to play through it or was able to play through it. It’s not something new but it’s something we have to look at and be mindful of.”

Alexandro Bernabei also drops out of the squad after being loaned to Brazilian club Internacional for the rest of 2024.

Rodgers was comfortable with the departure of the Argentinian despite having no regular left-back as cover for Greg Taylor.

“If I didn’t want it to happen it, it didn’t have to happen, but I’m confident enough in what we have in the squad for the remainder of the season, we will have coverage in that position,” Rodgers said. “Liam Scales has played there and we have other options.”

Steven Naismith was delighted at his side’s performance as they powered to the last eight of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup with a 4-1 thumping of Airdire.

Hearts raced into a three-goal lead with just 21 minutes on the clock after goals from Lawrence Shankland, Kenneth Vargas and Calem Nieuwenhof had them on easy street.

Adam Frizzell restored some hope for the hosts, though that would be extinguished when Shankland dinked home his 24th goal of the season with 17 minutes remaining.

“It was a really good performance, we scored early goals, scored four goals and it’s a comfortable night,” Naismith said.

“On top of that, the detail that we’d worked on, nearly all of it was right and the players executed it brilliantly.

“There was loads of positives. I’d say we’re still a good bit away, we could be more clinical and in some moments I think when it went 3-0 we picked the wrong option and were forcing it.”

Hearts will now travel to Morton in the quarter-finals, hoping to reach Hampden for the second time this season having already made the semi-final of the Viaplay Cup.

Dougie Imrie’s cinch Championship side shocked Motherwell to book their place in the next round, and Naismith is anticipating a tough encounter.

“Everybody in the last eight thinks they have a chance,” he added.

“Our tie away to Morton, people will think we are favourites, but think there’s a potential upset there.

“I think if we’re not at it then it’ll be a really difficult game, they’ve shown on Friday that they are a good team and are in form.

“We want to go as far as we can, one of the games this season that is disappointing is the semi-final in the last cup – we want to get to the semi-final and do well this time.”

Despite a night filled with positives for the Tynecastle side, there was one major disappointment as Craig Halkett limped off after 25 minutes.

Halkett had only recently returned from a year long lay-off with a ruptured ACL, though Naismith is hopeful the defender will make a speedy recovery.

“It’s just something with his knee, it doesn’t seem to be major but we don’t know at the moment,” he explained.

“We’ll just have to wait and see, at that moment in the game there wasn’t any major risk to continue on.”

Airdrie boss Rhys McCabe felt his side were competitive against their Premiership opponents, despite coming out on the end of a comprehensive defeat.

“I thought for large parts of the first half we were competitive,” McCabe said.

“We started the game really well with intent and didn’t sit off the game as probably a lot of smaller clubs would do against a big club like Hearts.

“You give a player the quality of Lawrence Shankland three or four opportunities then he’s bound to take one or two.

“There are loads of positives going around this club, yes we lost the game and are disappointed, but we’ve just come up from League One through the play-offs, got into the last 16 of the Scottish Cup and have the final of the Challenge Cup against The New Saints in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Hearts booked a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final clash with Morton after a first-half blitz powered them to a 4-1 victory at Airdrie.

Lawrence Shankland was yet again the key man for Steven Naismith’s side, with the captain bagging a brace to take his tally for the season to 24.

Shankland fired the Jambos in front and despite a positive response from the home side, the game was soon almost out of reach.

Kenneth Vargas and Calem Nieuwenhof both found the net to have the visitors on easy street with just 21 minutes on the clock.

There was a glimmer of hope for the Diamonds following Adam Frizzell’s glancing header after 34 minutes, but Shankland would add a decisive fourth with 17 minutes remaining to cap off an emphatic victory.

Craig Gordon returned between the sticks for the visitors, with Naismith making three changes from the side that defeated St Johnstone in midweek.

Jorge Grant and Craig Halkett were also handed starting roles, replacing Frankie Kent and Scott Fraser.

Arron Lyall made his first start for Airdrie since joining the club on loan from Rangers, the 20-year-old coming in for Liam McStravick.

The game began at a frantic pace and the home side forced three corners in the opening 10 minutes.

Hearts struck first in the 11th minute following a sweeping passing move that ended with Shankland powering home Alex Cochrane’s cutback.

Despite suffering an early setback, Airdrie responded well and looked to take the game to their cinch Premiership opponents.

Lyall’s cross almost caught out Gordon, but drifted just wide of the target, before Nikolay Todorov forced a wonderful close-range stop from the Hearts goalkeeper.

The Jambos survived a huge scare when Mason Hancock’s header from Charlie Telfer’s corner cannoned back off the crossbar.

Airdrie would be punished for not taking the chances that came their way when Kenneth Vargas doubled the visitors’ lead. The Costa Rican striker raced on to Halkett’s perfect through pass before prodding the ball past Josh Rae.

Suddenly, the Diamonds were facing a rout and they would concede again three minutes later after Nieuwenhof angled a low drive into the bottom corner.

Hearts were now cruising, though they would be dealt a blow when Halkett limped off to be replaced by Kye Rowles.

Alan Forrest worked Rae with a fizzing volley before the hosts gave themselves a glimmer of hope by reducing the deficit.

Hancock picked out Frizzell with a pin-point cross and the Airdrie skipper glanced beyond Gordon.

Rae denied Forrest and Dexter Lembikisa’s long-range strike either side of half-time as Hearts looked to put the game beyond doubt, but the hosts continued to demonstrate a threat of their own.

Lewis McGregor’s cross almost dropped under the crossbar with Gordon scrambling, and the introduction of Calum Gallagher for the final 23 minutes added an extra dimension to the Airdrie attack.

Any hopes of a shock comeback were extinguished after 73 minutes when Shankland was released by Fraser and the striker produced a typically composed finish to dink over the keeper.