Leighton Clarkson headed in Aberdeen's third goal at Pittodrie
Aberdeen's perfect start to the season continued as Jimmy Thelin's side swept away League 2 Spartans to book a place at Hampden in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals.
On a run of 10 straight wins, Aberdeen were heavy favourites and played to form as their intensity from the first whistle proved too much for their part-time opponents.
Pape Habib Gueye pounced on a loose ball in the box to turn in his sixth goal of the season and get Aberdeen going on 14 minutes.
A host of chances followed before the break, the best of them falling to Kevin Nisbet, but after scuffing his shot from close range the striker later redeemed himself to tap in Jack MacKenzie's excellent cross just before half-time.
It was a sucker punch for Spartans, who had done well to stay in touch with some dogged defending.
However, the tie was effectively over 45 seconds after the restart when Slobodan Rubezic picked out Leighton Clarkson, who nodded in Aberdeen's third goal.
Ester Sokler squeezed in a fourth after great work down the left-hand side by Clarkson and another superb Mackenzie cross.
That wrapped up an 11th consecutive victory for Aberdeen this season, and they will play in the semi-finals on the weekend of the 2 November against either Motherwell, Rangers, or the winner of Celtic's tie against Falkirk on Sunday.
Aberdeen continue to motor
A comfortable home victory against a League 2 side is not the most impressive of Thelin's 11 wins in a row.
However, there is enough evidence from recent struggles against lower-league opponents to illustrate Aberdeen's immense improvement under the Swede.
Non-league Darvel defeated Jim Goodwin's Aberdeen in January 2023 and last season Neil Warnock's Dons struggled past League 2 Bonnyrigg Rose.
But here there was not a moment when the result was in question such was Aberdeen's slickness with the ball and intensity without it.
That is exactly what Thelin has brought to Pittodrie, as well as vast improvement in individual players like Gueye, who has been transformed after a poor first season at the club.
Of course there are much tougher tests to come, but Aberdeen have the look of a team who mean business this season.
Beaten finalists in this competition last term, they will be a dangerous side to face in the last four.
Proud Spartans bow out
Spartans, an admirable community club from Edinburgh, have been slowly growing in stature over the last 12 years under long-serving manager Dougie Samuel.
They knocked out top-flight Ross County in the last round to reach their first national cup quarter-final, having also got the better of Championship side Livingston in the group stages.
This was simply a step too far, though, as they struggled to give their 400 travelling fans much to shout about.
Blair Henderson, a formidable finisher in the SPFL, plus talented players like Jamie Dishington and Cammy Russell could not get into the game and the League 2 outfit took until the 89th minute to register their only shot.
It was a significant achievement to get this far, but now Spartans will focus on league business as they aim to arrest a run of one win in six matches.
What they said
The Spartans manager Dougie Samuel: "I'm proud of the journey the players have been on in this competition. There were plenty of times when we could have thrown in the towel but they didn't do that.
"We clearly lost goals at bad times which was a huge frustration. But I have to say I really enjoyed watching Aberdeen play - I thought they were fantastic."
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin: "The third goal was important. You never know in these games if they get an opportunity in transition or from a corner. I'm really happy with that.
"The last 10 minutes, we had a 4-0 lead, and still everyone is sprinting and helping each other to defend, to keep pushing instead of just playing off the game. We need to keep that hunger on the pitch."
