Naderi breaks Aberdeen’s resistance as Rangers reach Premier Sports Cup final
Ryan Naderi’s dramatic late strike broke down Aberdeen’s stubborn resistance to earn Rangers a place in the Premier Sports Cup final.
Aberdeen restricted Rangers to one shot on target in a low quality first half, but Derek McInnes’s side picked up the pace after the break.
Aberdeen survived relentless pressure at times but in the 83rd minute, Naderi redirected a strike from James Penrice into the net for his eight goal of the season to seal a 1-0 win at Hampden Park.
Rangers – who will face the winners of Sunday’s other semi-final between Hearts and Hibernian in the final – went into the game unbeaten in 10 and firm favourites.
With five Aberdeen defenders missing through suspension or injury – Lewis Mayo, Mats Knoester, Dan Happe, Kristers Tobers and Chris Cadden – there was an element of makeshift about their lineup, with a first start of the season for Nicky Devlin.
Derek McInnes, the Rangers manager who won the trophy with Aberdeen in 2014, raised eyebrows by dropping midfielder Dan Neil, with left-back Tuur Rommens starting and Penrice moving into midfield, and Badredine Bouanani starting in place of Djeidi Gassama.
There was more readjustment for Aberdeen when Emmanuel Gyamfi injured himself trying to tackle Kim Min-su and was replaced by Stuart Armstrong.
In the 23rd minute, the Rangers parted and Nesta Guinness-Walker drove through the gap, forcing goalkeeper Ivor Pandur to save.
Aberdeen captain Kevin Nisbet glanced a header wide of the goal before Naderi hooked an effort over the crossbar.
after newsletter promotion
Quick GuideScottish Premiership roundup: Saints dedicate draw to dismissed Steward
Show
Simo Valakari dedicated St Johnstone’s battling 2-2 draw at Kilmarnock to the goalkeeper Toby Steward, who was dismissed in the 14th minute (pictured) after misjudging a long ball and handling outside his penalty area. Saints then twice fell behind to Cathal McCarthy and Djenairo Daniels, but equalised both times with goals from Danny Schmidt and Joel Cotterill to capture an unlikely point. The substitute goalkeeper Ross Sinclair, who came on at the expense of Taylor Steven, also made multiple second-half saves to help Saints move up to seventh.
Valakari, the St Johnstone manager, said: “Toby has held his hands up and said: ‘I am sorry, boys, for what I did.’ But our team did it for Toby, the boys did it for Taylor, who I needed to take out straight away.
“We are all here playing for each other. We have got each other’s backs when things happen. That tells me my players are ready to accept any responsibility. Early red card, with Toby that’s my tactical choice. I ask my keeper to play very high, like a sweeper-keeper for those long balls. In those moments, for a year, Toby has been fantastic in clearing the ball, reading the ball. It’s a thin line, a little outside the box, that can happen.”
Alfred Johansson admitted he was left to sweat as Motherwell broke a seven-game winless run with a 1-0 win over St Mirren. Lukas Fadinger rattled home a penalty eight minutes from time to relieve some pressure on the Swede as the Fir Park side climbed into eighth.
Johansson was adamant his team were well worthy of a result, which brought welcome relief to both him and his players. He said: “Even more than relief, I felt good, happy, joy, determination. This group has done really well lately and I think it’s very well deserved to get the victory and have at least four points from these last two games. It’s important to build on it, the most important thing today is that we didn’t give away easy goals or big chances at all." Press Association
Photograph: Andy Buchanan/Shutterstock Editorial
Just before the break Aberdeen goalkeeper Marius Müller parried a low drive from Bouanani to safety then Naderi headed a cross from stand-in captain Nico Raskin just over before Kim slashed a drive wide.
As the game stretched, Pandur saved a deflected Kevin Nesbit drive then Müller blocked a shot from Kim before Rangers striker Kevin Kelsy somehow managed to head a pinpoint delivery from Bouanani past a post from six yards.
Müller’s foot blocked another effort from Bouanani and beat away a Raskin volley as the Aberdeen box came under siege.
On a rare break, Nesbit’s shot was deflected wide and from the corner the Aberdeen striker hooked over the bar.
Aberdeen finally succumbed when Bouanani knocked the ball back to Penrice and he fired towards goal, with Naderi stepping in to beat Müller from close range.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.