Aberdeen advanced to the quarter-finals of the Betfred Cup with a 1-0 win against Hamilton Accies.
Kenny McLean scored the only goal of the game two minutes before the break of a hard-fought last 16 encounter.
It was an impressive victory for the Dons, who were beaten by Celtic in the final of the competition last season.
Aberdeen made one change from the team that started Sunday’s 2-0 win against the Accies with Kari Arnason, who looked short of full fitness, dropping to the bench and replaced by Mark Reynolds.
Hamilton also made one alteration with Grant Gillespie stepping in for Ioannis Skondras, who struggled to deal with Scott Wright’s trickery in the previous meeting.
There was a worrying moment for the Dons when Lewis required treatment for a head injury after bravely saving at the feet of Steven Boyd following a swift Accies counter-attack but the goalkeeper was able to play on.
Hamilton’s robust approach meant the Dons were struggling to enjoy much in the way of meaningful possession in the opening exchanges, although they went close to an opener when Maynard pounced on a poor kick-out from Accies goalkeeper Gary Woods but Christie couldn’t convert from close range.
Boyd looked set to give Accies the lead after 30 minutes when Lewis failed to hold an Imrie cross but the Hamilton player’s attempt from only five yards out was blocked on the line by his own teammate Ali Crawford, who was adjudged to be in an offside position.
The Dons almost made the home side pay five minutes before the break when Shinnie picked out the unmarked Andy Considine with an inch-perfect cross but the defender nodded wide.
But they made no mistake in the 43rd minute.
Wright started the attack by skipping past Gillespie with a neat piece of skill before finding Shinnie. His shot was blocked but McLean was ruthless with the follow-up, firing low beyond Woods with his right foot.
Hamilton had a great chance to level six minutes into the second period but Mark Reynolds rescued the situation with a superb block to deny Rakish Bingham with Xavier Tomas heading wide from the resulting corner.
Maynard sliced a long range effort wide at the other end as the Dons pressed for the second goal that would go a long way to killing off the tie as a contest.
The home side claimed for a penalty when O’Connor collided with Greg Docherty but referee Nick Walsh waved play on.
The Dons were beginning to look a bit sluggish so McInnes made three changes in quick succession with Greg Stewart, Gary Mackay-Steven and Miles Storey brought on for Wright, Christie and Maynard.
Shinnie was next to try his luck with a curling effort from 20 yards that was easily handled by Woods, while Accies continued to push forward in numbers but were finding the Dons central defensive pair of Reynolds and O’Connor a difficult obstacle to overcome.
Aberdeen passed up a couple of glaring opportunities to put the game to bed with Considine perhaps unfortunate to hook over from a Greg Tansey corner, while an unmarked Stewart should have converted after fine play from Storey.
Accies were inches away from an equaliser with four minutes remaining when Gillespie went close from the edge of the area before Stewart headed over from close range but it mattered not as the Dons held on for the win.