A QUALITY goal from home captain Graeme Shinnie produced the right outcome at Pittodrie as Aberdeen earned another visit to the national stadium, where they will hope they find themselves playing Hibernian on a surface that gives them more of an opportunity to perform.

The hosts were unquestionably the better of the sides in yesterday’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final, as Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald, who had seen his side win their previous four matches, was the first to acknowledge.

However, it was workmanlike qualities that ultimately saw Derek McInnes’s side through as they dealt with the robustness that had helped Thistle get the better of Dundee four days earlier and get through to the last four as they had been expected to do, in spite of their own midweek mishap at Hamilton.

“It was hard fought. We expected it to be tough,” the Aberdeen manager said afterwards. Our attacking play was more prominent and we deserved to win the game. The first goal was always going to be important against a team who don’t concede too many, but we deserved to be in front. Joe [Lewis, Aberdeen’s goalkeeper] didn’t have a save to make but you can see how Thistle have been getting results. They are tough to play against.”

All the more so when confronted by what would be considered a leveller of a pitch, rather than one that would provide true home advantage for a side looking to play a lively game, but overcoming that should only have added to the sense of satisfaction and that seemed to be the case. “It was torrential here all day yesterday. We spiked the pitch because there were puddles on it but it dries out really quickly,” McInnes added, explaining the odd-seeming decision to water the surface pre-match when it had been flooded less than 24 hours earlier. “There’s not too much grass on it, so we tried to make best of it, get some pace into it. We wanted pace in the game – that’s why we played [Peter] Pawlett, [Niall] McGinn and [Jonny] Hayes. We didn’t want it slow and predictable, we wanted it open with pace. Our movement did that for us. We moved them around a lot, their big central defenders. .”

For all the difficulties Aberdeen faced from opponents whose determination to make their presence felt earned a yellow card count of 4-0, the last of those ending Danny Devine’s involvement since it was his second, that approach was what made the difference, McInnes registering no complaint about the nature of the questions asked of his men. “It’s a quarter-final and both teams were desperate to win. You have to deal with physical side, but it didn’t boil over,” he said.

Archibald accepting that Devine’s dismissal had been deserved. And for all that his team, which was understandably unchanged following the win at Dens Park, had set out looking as confident as might be expected, he accepted that they had been outplayed.

In doing so, the Thistle manager also seemed to suggest that he might have done better to find some way of freshening things up. “I thought we started well enough and were the better side for the first five or 10 minutes, but we fell out of the game after that,” was his fair summation of proceedings. “It was one game too many for some of our players. We have to pass it better. Our delivery was poor, whereas Aberdeen used their big boy up front very well.”

He noted that included Jayden Stockley laying off the ball to set up the opportunity that Shinnie, took so well two minutes before half-time. He teed the ball up himself with a couple of deft touches as he moved infield from the right, before wrapping his left foot round the ball and sending it across and beyond Tomas Cerny.

Cerny had already made a fine save from a powerfully struck volley from Niall McGinn, who was probably the most influential figure on the day.

Thistle did get close to undeservedly taking the match back to Firhill in the closing stages, not least when a Callum Booth free-kick was met at the far post by his captain. However, Abdul Osman was unable to get it on target when he probably should have done better, an accusation that could also have been levelled at Aberdeen substitute Anthony O’Connor a little earlier.

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McInnes relieved to miss Celtic in last four

ABERDEEN manager Derek McInnes was relieved to avoid favourites Celtic in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-finals after his team were instead paired with holders Hibernian.

The Dons had kept alive their hopes of winning the competition for the first time since 1990 by defeating Partick Thistle 1-0 at Pittodrie.

McInnes said: “It is a good draw and I think Hibs will see it exactly the same way as we do.

“If we are all being honest, I think the three other teams would have wanted to avoid Celtic [who will play Rangers] because they are the strongest team at the minute. From that point of view we are pleased but it is nothing against Hibs and I am sure Neil Lennon will be as pleased as ourselves.

“I think when you get to a semi-final, you expect a tough opponent and that is exactly what we are getting with the experience of their manager and the experience of them having already won the cup and being holders.

“It will be a very close game I am sure but we just need to make sure we go to Hampden in good form.

“If we are deemed to be favourites, so be it and we just have to do our business on the pitch.”