'I couldn't watch' - fan verdicts on Scottish Cup semis

It was a Scottish Cup semi-final weekend of contrasting levels of drama and, naturally, vastly differing emotions.

On Saturday, Celtic pipped Aberdeen on penalties in one of the most incredible games in the long history of the competition.

Rangers then joined their Old Firm rivals in the final with a more routine victory against Heart of Midlothian the following day.

This is what fans of the four clubs made of the last-four action at Hampden...

'Couldn't watch the penalties'

Celtic fans felt their dramatic victory against Aberdeen showed up deficiencies in their team and management...

Tom: You couldn't get through that game without thinking it's not going to be Celtic's day. But in the end, they just about deserved it.

Grant: Celtic did their best to throw the match away. Some very bizarre decisions coming from the touchline: taking off McGregor when in the ascendancy; subbing Forrest for Nawrocki which allowed their defender to go up for the last goal as he has no-one to mark; Hart on the fifth penalty when he’s rubbish with the ball at his feet under pressure. Shambles!

Patrick: Thought we were pretty threatening going forward, but very weak at the back. Greg Taylor is out of position far too often and a very ineffective defender. Fought hard and got the crucial win.

David: Couldn't watch the penalties, I had to walk the dog. My son called me when we won, this game will be the death of me.

John: Rodgers needs to go. Somewhere, anywhere else. This team can't perform to the best of their ability under him. Lacks the ability to motivate. In what line of work can you fail so comprehensively by relegating Leicester then get a great job for a huge club. Last time he was at Celtic there was no real competition.

D: Scales not good enough for Celtic - at fault for two goals. Need to play better than this if they want to win the league again.

Neil: As thrilling as the game was, we mustn't miss that Celtic were poor against a bang average, lower-end-of-the-table team. We shipped three goals and did not have their goalkeeper under any real pressure. Paper and cracks comes to mind. If we do the double, it will only be because the opposition is sub-standard. We will again be exposed in Europe.

Andy: Semi-finals are never easy but we made it to the final. We will have to play a lot better in the remaining games if we are going to win the league. 'CalMac' [Callum McGregor] does not look fit and Yang is not good enough to start yet, but we just need to keep winning games.

Carlos: Maybe a bit harsh considering, but in my opinion Brendan Rodgers is not the man for Celtic. They have regressed badly in both quality and bottle. Watching them is mostly a drudge and they now concede far more late goals than score.

'Proud of them - all credit to Leven'

Caretaker manager Peter Leven and the much-criticised Dons players gave Aberdeen fans one of their best days of the season despite the agonising defeat

Martin: Proud of the boys. Cracking goals while two of theirs could have been avoided. Why was the penalty overturned? If Hoilett puts away his chance, who's to say what might have happened?

James: What a game! I am sure it will be talked about for a very long time to come. Both teams made it a truly fantastic spectacle. Celtic should have had the game done by half-time, but the Dandies had other ideas. I am sure Jimmy Thelin will have seen much to encourage him. All credit to Peter Leven for getting his tactics right.

Andy: A decent performance from the players and it begs the question - why can't they perform like this every week? One thing that was certainly highlighted is the over-rating of Shinnie's contribution and importance to the side.

Richard: Absolutely loved it. I think the best Aberdeen performance I have ever seen in person in my 40 years of following the team. This was the performance, fight and character we expected going into this season, but had been sorely lacking. Peter Leven has done incredibly well and has shown up our previous managers comprehensively.

DT: I hope Jimmy was watching and he’s seen what he has to work with. I’m willing to wait and am excited to see what our new boss will bring.

Kevin: So very proud of Aberdeen Football Club! They turned up, played with attitude and showed some respect for the team and the fans they represent.

Andrew: Great game, great performance by the Dons. 'Draw' probably a fair result, although hurts to have had another wrong VAR call on the Hoilett penalty. Thelin’s going to expect this level of effort as a minimum, and if we do we have the quality to make the most of it. Much more like it, lads.

Paul: Very proud of the players - I thought we deserved to win. I thought the officiating was terrible and this played a part in the defeat. If we play like this we will be back in Europe the season after next.

Graeme: I'm disappointed with the result, but not by the performance. The team fought hard from kick-off to final whistle, and we didn't lose by a bucket-load like I expected. If they can put that kind of application in for the next five games, we'll be OK.

'Is the dream still alive?'

Rangers fans praised the return of Leon Balogun as they set up an Old Firm final

Ronnie: We are in a cup final - that's the main thing. Overall we were a better side than Hearts but after a lightning start we laboured badly until the second half. Dessers scored two goals yet you still feel frustrated with him. Balogun, Diomande, Sterling and Cantwell the standouts. Now let's win the cup.

Anonymous: It was a much better performance than our last few outings. Well done to Dessers, much better performance. The first goal was great. But we wasted so many chances as usual in front of goal. We should be scoring more, but we don't have a reliable striker.

Brian: At last this was a good team performance. A big difference in this game than the last two disappointments. Still the big test is still to come, but going in the right direction.

Margaret: A huge call dropping Goldson but it paid off. Looked more like the Rangers of late - we need to push on from this. Cantwell played much better than he has recently. A huge ask, but is the dream still alive?

Dougie: Still gutted at last week. If only Rangers could be more consistent. Workmanlike performance. Rangers have more ups and downs than the grand old Duke of York.

Elaine: At last we put in a good performance. Not brilliant but a big improvement. Balogun was immense and Cantwell certainly prefers a big, wide-open park. Bring on the last six games.

Fraser: I'm a big fan of Leon Balogun. He should be starting every week. Todd Cantwell was immense. It was a gritty performance all round.

Brian: At last a good team performance; a big difference in this game than the last two disappointments. The big test is still to come but we are going in the right direction.

Anon: It was a much better performance than our last few outings. Well done to Dessers, a much better performance and his first goal was great. But we wasted so many chances as usual in front of goal. We should be scoring more but we don't have a reliable striker.

'Next year will be the crunch'

Steven Naismith still has doubters to win over after a meek defeat to Rangers

Jim: Not the best performance. Slow start again. This squad of players need to put in their all until the end of the season - the 20,000 fans deserve it.

Fraser: Hearts huffed and puffed but didn’t show that necessary experience and composure needed to beat Rangers. I like Vargas; his work rate and energy is great but he must improve his finishing if he wants to cement his place in the squad. Once again, though, the right-back position is of grave concern and Hearts cannot win anything until this is addressed.

Kuptin: Predictable. Recently, Naismth has been pretty good at reading games and reacting to adversity, but I think the problem today was weakness in midfield, not up front. Grant, Devlin and Baningime were simply over-run. Maybe Hearts missed a bigger physical presence there – Haring, for instance, even Cochrane. Perhaps Spittal will help next year.

Andy: As usual the tactics were wrong. We let Rangers have an extra man in midfield and never changed the set-up. They were there for the taking but we failed yet again.

Max: Hearts have an inexperienced manager and a patched-up squad. They have done really well this year; next year will be the crunch. That will make or break Naismith.

Chris: This game highlights the mentality needed to compete at the top level; we just don’t have it. We have no real spark, Shankland is blowing cold and if anyone thinks third place in the league is a gimme then watch this space. It’s going to be a nervy run in.

Anon: So very disappointed with the performance. I live in Worcestershire so can only see them on TV. I’ve supported them man and boy for 85 years and was so looking forward to watching the match. Maybe next time - but they have to play as if they think they can win.

Ian: Started so slow again, it's criminal. What do the players need to be told to be up for it from the start?