St Mirren 0-2 Aberdeen: Dons reach Scottish Cup semi-final

Aberdeen reached the Scottish Cup semi-final for the fifth time under Derek McInnes as they saw off St Mirren at the Simple Digital Arena.

Lewis Ferguson's early goal and Sam Cosgrove's penalty were enough to seal Aberdeen's place in the last four.

The visitors raced out of the traps, but after their early goal were content to sit in and frustrate the home side.

Jim Goodwin's side could not find a way through Aberdeen's sea of red shirts before Cosgrove's late spot kick.

Aberdeen now wait to find out who they will face in the draw which follows St Johnstone's clash with Celtic on Sunday, with Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian already in the hat.

• Reaction and how it happened

• Player Rater: Who was your man of the match?

Dons win stuffy cup tie

Aberdeen had been welcome visitors to Paisley this season. Two trips down from the north east, no goals conceded for the home side, and a healthy four points in their battle to avoid relegation.

But the visitors started this one with an intensity that had been lacking on those visits. In less than seven minutes, after Curtis Main had headed over from close range, Ferguson broke through St Mirren's backline and coolly lobbed Matty Kennedy's through ball over the goalkeeper with the outside of his right foot.

Goodwin's side have been used to fighting back from behind recently. Four times in February they had salvaged something from a losing position, including recovering to beat Motherwell in midweek.

But Aberdeen's backline proved tougher to crack, even after Scotland defender Scott McKenna hobbled off clutching his hamstring. The one time they got in behind the defence in the first half, Ilkay Durmus' cross was rushed and uninviting for his team-mates.

Jamie McGrath's long-range shot was beaten away by Joe Lewis as Goodwin's team tried to rally after half-time, a rare save as both sides struggled to show any real quality in the final third.

Main did have the ball in the net with a fine diving header, but he had just strayed offside and the goal was ruled out.

Seifedin Chabbi emerged from the St Mirren dugout for his debut, the 26-year-old joining on loan in January from Gazisehir Gaziantep. But the game continued to fade away - the odd cross missing heads or being clutched out of the air by the goalkeepers.

Any hope of a comeback was extinguished in time added on as Cosgrove won a penalty for his side under Sam Foley's challenge, and he drove the ball into the bottom right-hand corner to seal yet another semi-final place.

'It's what we were here to do' - reaction

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "Another game I felt we were the better team over the whole piece. I thought we played the better football, but ultimately Aberdeen have won 2-0. The goals from our point of view are really disappointing.

Aberdeen goalscorer Sam Cosgrove: "Amazing. It's what we were here to do. We just wanted to get the result. We're absolutely delighted to get back to Hampden. At a club like Aberdeen you feel that pressure all the time. It was definitely expected that we at least got to Hampden this year."