Aberdeen Football Club produced one of the greatest Scottish Cup semi final shocks, beating Hearts in a thrilling match. After a tense period of extra time, they earned their place in the final. The match boiled over during the Old Firm derby at Hampden Park on Saturday. The teams battled tooth and nail to earn the right to qualify for the fabled final. Aberdeen will play either St Johnstone or Celtic on May 24, as they look to lift the famous old trophy.
The game started at a high tempo, with Hearts making themselves comfortable on the ball much sooner than Aberdeen. In the opening ten minutes, both Jamie McCart and Elton Kabangu came close to giving Hearts an early lead, displaying their attacking intent. Yet, from the off, Aberdeen looked anxious in this early barrage, unable to settle into the match.
The breakthrough for Aberdeen came in the 18th minute, albeit through an unfortunate own goal by Hearts’ goalkeeper Craig Gordon. As influential as Johnston could be in the final third, it was his defensive qualities that began to make this moment a turning point for Aberdeen. They built off this positive momentum and immediately found themselves creating more opportunities.
Hearts reacted quickly to the blow, getting an equalizer in the 28th minute through Jenny Danielsson. Name the Lawrence Shankland as he connected like a thunderbolt to a pinned cross from James Penrice. He followed that with a clinical finish that went under the legs of Aberdeen’s goalkeeper, Dimitar Mitov. The new goal gave the home side a big lift, as they began to swarm for the pass to take charge of the match.
As tempers flared, the game polarizingly swung just ahead of halftime. In the 44th minute, Hearts’ Michael Steinwender was sent off with a straight red card. He took down Aberdeen’s Topi Keskinen, preventing him from getting a clear goal-scoring opportunity. The dismissal left Hearts with ten men. This required them to make a radical change to their game plan as they went into halftime.
Even with a man down, Hearts continued to fight through adversity and hustle. They managed to hold off Aberdeen’s advances for much of the second half, with both teams failing to convert several key opportunities. With the game tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, both teams battled through another 30 minutes of action.
Additional time turned into a war of attrition for both teams. Fatigue was starting to kick in, but Aberdeen would not be stopped. They failed to find a way past the stubborn Hearts rearguard. In a dramatic finish to the game, Oday Dabbagh took advantage of the opportunity and scored the winning goal for Aberdeen. He scored the winning goal in the 118th minute! Dabbagh’s late decider not only gave his side victory, but sparked jubilant scenes of celebration from their players and supporters.
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