Aberdeen will have to overcome holders Celtic in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup at Hampden next month if they are to take a step closer to ending their 30-year wait for success in the competition.
The Dons defeated St Mirren 2-0 in Paisley on Saturday evening to earn their place in the final four.
Their reward was a semi-final showdown with Neil Lennon’s Hoops who are chasing a fourth successive domestic clean sweep.
Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibernian will meet in the other semi-final after today’s draw conducted by Peterhead captain Simon Ferry and former Rangers manager Ally McCoist.
Hearts defeated Rangers 1-0 at Tynecastle, while Hibernian booked their place in the semi-finals with a 5-2 victory against Caley Thistle on Friday night.
The semi-finals will take place on the weekend of April 11 with the final at Hampden on May 9.
Dons manager Derek McInnes was delighted to make it through to a ninth semi-final in seven seasons at Pittodrie with a commanding display against the Buddies.
He said: “We know the importance of the cups.
“I knew from day one in the job here how important cup football was to the club and the supporters.”We have been in umpteen semi-finals and finals and shown we are a very good cup team.
“We showed a lot of spirit. We weren’t at our best but with the conditions as they were, we showed enough good moments and the spirit we showed at Rugby Park (in a 4-3 win after extra time) to get the job done.
“Sometimes you can win games through brilliance – Fergie supplied a bit of that – and sometimes you do it through sheer tenacity and will.
“I thought my team were very good. To get a clean sheet against a team I have a high regard for and win 2-0 was a brilliant result.”