Joy, relief and despair as fans react to Scottish Cup semi-finals

Only four Scottish Premiership sides were in action over the weekend thanks to two semi-finals at Hampden Park.

So how did their respective fans react to Aberdeen's 2-1 win over Heart of Midlothian and Scottish Cup holders Celtic's 5-0 thrashing of St Johnstone?

'On verge of a record-breaking ninth treble'

With Celtic having a 15-point lead in the league and having already lifted the Premier Sports Cup, their fans are not surprisingly expecting Brendan Rodgers' side to complete the domestic treble.

John: Another great display. I do, however, have a gripe. When we're winning with comfort we tend to start easing off, understandable, but a game lasts 90 minutes and I want to see more goals. That's what football is basically about.

Stephen: Much better performance. Once the first goal went in, the confidence grew. Could've been a lot more. Such a shame the worldie that St Johnstone scored was ruled out. Let's win all our remaining games and extend manager Brendan Rodgers' unbeaten Hampden run.

Jim: St Johnstone tried to stifle us and it worked right up until the first goal. After that, it was men against boys and we never looked like losing. Another captain's performance from Callum McGregor and eight-out-of-10 performances from the rest of the team. Another treble on the way.

Roz: Slow start to the game, but the cup holders stepped up their game with the captain leading the way. When Celtic move the ball quickly, there are few teams in Scotland who can compete for 90 minutes. Celtic, whether you love them or loathe them, have managed their finances and their team well over the past few decades.

John: Celtic doing what Celtic do best. Seven players on 10-plus goals. Not so long ago, lots of fans were worrying we hadn't replaced Kyogo Furuhashi. The stats speak for themselves. On the verge of a record-breaking ninth treble and trophies number 120 and 121. It is so great to be a Celtic fan.

'Hard to watch - but progress made'

Aberdeen fans think their side made hard work of beating a Hearts team reduced to 10 men in the first half and down to nine for the final moments as Oday Dabbagh scored a late winner in extra time.

Les: Pretty awful game and not a great performance against 10 men. Lacking in pace and imagination. Still, we got to the final and hopefully we can avoid a Hampden defeat.

Karl: A real tough watch at times, but let's not forget Hearts came to spoil the game - and succeeded. The red card made them very compact and hard to break down. I thought, once extra time kicked in, the extra man really showed. Oday Dabbagh and, especially, Dante Polvara were brilliant when they came on. Polvara needs to start the next game in my opinion. On to the final and that's all that matters. This could still be a very successful season if we win a few more games.

Justin: Couldn't be happier with getting to a final, but a cup final appearance is going to be another level of nerves and that's what I think led to such a below par showing. Fantastic to be through - and you never know.

Eric: This was a hard watch, painful at times, but it's the result that matters. The Hampden pitch always plays it's part in these matches and it proved it once again. Time now to use some of the fringe players with five very hard league games ahead, as some of the main team were posted missing in this match and there will be some very tired legs.

Niall: It was a tough, frustrating watch for 117 minutes. The real lack of Dons urgency, cutting edge and thrust in the final third against 10 men for the second half was disappointing. However, eventually, one quality cross, a good attempt, which made Craig Gordon have to work, finally led to an instinctive reaction from Dabbagh to settle this drab affair. The way this match had gone I really had no confidence in Dons' success. Let's take this result and turn this season into something special for Jimmy Thelin and the whole club.

Bob: Not a great performance, but semi-finals are seldom pretty. We would have been happy with our place in all competitions at the start of the season and we're making progress.

'Defeat sums up Hearts' season'

Hearts fans were left lamenting red cards for Michael Steinwender and Cammy Devlin but are divided about whether head coach Neil Critchley should carry the can for their side falling short against Aberdeen on top of their failure to qualify for the league's top six.

James: Same old at Hearts against a poor Aberdeen side. Lots of possession, no goal threat. One shot on target with 11 men. The three strikers up front has never worked. Two strikers off at half-time with two centre-backs on. What shape is that? Especially when our slowest striker is left on - sheer lunacy. The first red card, okay - the second was ridiculous. Now we're staring at a relegation fight. [Head coach] Neil Critchley and [chief executive] Andrew McKinlay have to go. When was the last manager with a winning record appointed at Hearts?

Tam: This game just summed up our entire season. The big moment fell to Aberdeen, who took advantage of some horrific refereeing. I couldn't fault the effort of the Hearts players, but in these tight games, you sometimes need a touch of good luck and we have had none of that this season. So the rebuilding starts now and here's to a better season next time.

Peter: We were full of determination and no lack of effort. Poor judgement by Michael Steinwender cost us dearly - it's better to lose a goal than be down to 10 men. Cammy Devlin should not have been booked. Had the opponent not put his leg in, Cammy strikes the ball, VAR should have intervened. Critchley made good decisions. No blame falls his way this time.

Michael: Inevitable baying for the manager's head will come, completely ignoring the fact that we had two points and were bottom of the league when he took over. We sacked Steven Naismith weeks into his new deal, costing us a huge amount, and Critchley's contract runs until 2027. We can't waste money on sacking another manager with years left on his deal. He's had one transfer window to fix all of the problems we have and it's not his fault that the team - third in the league in expected goals rankings - can't score goals. A pacey goalscorer is badly needed in the summer, as well as a halfway decent creative midfielder, and the eternal search for a right back continues.

Mark: A good game to watch with a lot of positives, but in reality it sums our season up. It's time to rebuild and try a few different things for the remaining games of the season. Critchley has steadied the ship from the shambles he inherited, but ultimately teams go through rough patches and that's what happened to Hearts this season. A few players to move on, possibly a change in coaching staff and a few good signings and we should be back on track.

Alexander: I feel for Critchley, but he was never the right appointment. He lacks charisma and a big-game mentality. Hearts have the third biggest budget in the league. Could anyone honestly say we have the third best manager in the league?

'Championship beckons' for Saints?

Simo Valakari is another manager under scrutiny after St Johnstone's Hampden hammering and with his side sitting bottom of the Premiership.

Les: This was always a free hit for us and the first 30 minutes was okay. But we imploded in 12 minutes before half time. The goals conceded were all avoidable. Yet again, individual errors cost us. It's been the same all season. We at least stuck at it second half, but the five games remaining are the priority now. We absolutely have to win the three home games and, being honest, I think that is beyond this group. The Championship beckons.

Ron: Whatever happens, we must stick with this manager for next season.

Ian: After the win at home against Celtic, a scudding was expected and a scudding was duly delivered. The frustration for me is the cheap and meek manner in which the goals were conceded. That said, they put six past Aberdeen in the League Cup semis and I wouldn't swap the three league points we got for a cup final. We've got five cup finals to go.

Dave: How many times do we create our own issues playing silly, nothing balls forward from the back into the middle of the park? Is it the players who have to take responsibility, or Simo Valakari? I really like Simo, but something has to change with that aspect as it's happening all too often and we've lost several goals from these mistakes since he's arrived. It was always going to be hard, but that made it impossible and we lost our belief as soon as that first goal went in.