Jim Goodwin hailed his Aberdeen heroes last night as they dismantled a gritty Partick Thistle to move into the Premier Sports League Cup semi-final with four stunning strikes that left the Jags with an impossible hurdle to overcome.
Luis Lopes, a Kevin Holt own goal and Hayden Coulson strike put the Dons on easy street in the first half before substitute Darren Brownlie pulled one back for the visitors minutes after the break.
But a stunning long-range strike from Ryan Duncan late on sealed the semi-final place for the hosts on a night when they produced a display of confidence and quality as they look ahead to facing Rangers in the next round.
“If you have offered me a scruffy 90th minute winner I would have taken it,” Goodwin said.
“No doubt the critics will analyse the second half and say we could have done better, but I’m not too interested in analysing it.
“The objective was to get into the semi-final and give the supporters a day out at Hampden, and we've done that.
“I thought there were a number of really good performances. I don’t think the substitutions changed the rhythm, it was my decisions.
"We went from a back three to a back four, and it didn’t pay off as I’d hoped.
“Partick were in a position where they could throw four or five forward as they had nothing to lose, and I’m sure Ian McCall is pleased with how his players responded in the second half.
“Our players haven’t been in this position before when there is so much at stake and hopefully this experience will stand us in good stead in the future whether it is in the semi-final at Hampden and we’re leading and pressure is applied.
“But credit to the players, their application and attitude, and standards throughout the night was where it needed to be.
“We could have made life easier and could have scored more goals but 4-1 and in the semi-final draw is exactly what we wanted.”
“We made one or two statements prior to a ball being kicked – and one of them was about going far in domestic cup competitions.
You leave yourself wide open to criticism if it doesn’t come off.
“Thankfully we’ve reached the semi-final but we’re not satisfied with just that.”
For Thistle manager Ian McCall there was an acceptance that his men were beaten by a superior side, despite the face they produced a better second-half display.
He may have hoped for something better after Brownlie had pulled a goal back in 52 minutes with a glorious header from Stuart Bannigan’s corner kick, but by then Lopes, with a wonder strike in 16 minutes after Hayden Coulson had sent him clear, meant Aberdeen had already stamped their authority on this quarter-final.
McCall said: “Aberdeen thoroughly deserved to win and good luck to them in the semis.
“Both central defenders – Kevin Holt and Aaron Muirhead - got injured and both are very big players for us.
"We don’t think Kevin has done has done his cruciate ligament but it could be a ligament thing, maybe four to six weeks.
“Our aim is to maintain our position at the top of the table and come to Pittodrie on a regular basis."
Muirhead had cleared off the line minutes into this tie but limped off not too long after.
By then, Thistle had been prodded and pummeled and when Holt diverted Hayden Coulson’s drive past his own keeper, just after half an hour, the writing was already on the wall for McCall’s side.
Coulson was causing havoc down the left and his ferocious strike on 35 minutes proved too much for Thistle keeper Jamie Sneddon as he must have wondered whether there would be much let-up for him on the night.
The Dons may have eased up in the second half, but despite Brownlie’s goal for the visitors, they never looked like slipping and when Duncan came on late and hit a 25-yard curler of a shot into the Partick next five minutes from the end, it underlines the host’s superiority.
