Aberdeen defeat nine-man Hearts in extra time to reach Scottish Cup final

Aberdeen have reached the Scottish Cup final after a 2-1 extra-time win over nine-man Hearts at Hampden.

Papa Gueye opened the scoring before Lawrence Shankland’s equaliser but red cards for Michael Steinwender and Cammy Devlin gave the Dons and advantage and Oday Dabbagh scored the decisive goal.

Aberdeen took the lead after 18 minutes when a Leighton Clarkson corner found Gueye and his powerful header came down off the bar and into the net off Craig Gordon.

Hearts equalised ten minutes later and it was captain Shankland who levelled, finding himself unmarked at the back post after a James Penrice cross, and able to fire in a powerful low shot.

Just two minutes before half time, Hearts were reduced to ten men. Topi Keskinen had the chance to race in on goal but was taken out by Steinwender and referee John Beaton brought out a red card.

The second half saw Hearts work hard to frustrate Aberdeen and try to minimise their advantage, with the result that there were few clear-cut chances.

Extra time gave the opportunity for either side to find the goal that would take them to the final. The first period passed without major incident but in the 115^th minute Hearts were reduced to nine men when Devlin was dismissed for a second booking.

Moments later, Aberdeen took the lead. Dante Polvara whipped in a low ball that Gordon parried and Dabbagh pounced on the rebound to poke it into the net before racing to celebrate with the Dons fans.

Hearts couldn’t find a response in the final minutes and Aberdeen march on to face Celtic or St Johnstone in the showpiece final next month.