Aberdeen 4 - 1 Queen of the South

Aberdeen started brightly and won the first corner of the match in the 2nd minute. A short corner was taken and Scott gathered under pressure to deny an early opening. The visitors had not made the long trip just to make up the numbers and were eager to get forward when the opportunity arose. The biggest threat from the Dons in the early stages came from the left with Clark and Sheerin combining well. The pair forced a corner in the 12th minute, which D'Jaffo could only steer over.

Aberdeen simply moved up a gear after this threat and the tie was sewn up with a quick double. D'Jaffo grabbed the second in the 22nd minute when he managed to turn a Payne cross into the net from a tight angle. Three minutes later Anderson headed home a Clark corner to put the Dons on easy street. In between these two strikes D'Jaffo had a shot blocked and Tosh set up O'Donoghue for a fine effort that went inches over the bar.

Derek Young went close again in the 33rd minute with a dipping shot that scraped the crossbar. To their credit Queens didn't let the heads go down and continued to threaten on the break. Payne had to look lively to block a McLaughlin shot in the 36th minute and Anderson showed his International quality 4 minutes later to deny O'Connor. Preece was also kept on his toes, turning a long range Bowey effort round the post.

Two minutes later Clark went on a probing run on the left before cutting inside and driving over from 12 yards. A series of substitutions did little to help the continuity, but Scott was forced to make a double save in the 82nd minute when he first blocked a fierce Clark drive then stopped D'Jaffo's attempt to convert the rebound.

Queens grabbed a late consolation when Weatherson fired home from the spot after Anderson had bundled him over in the box. Deep in injury time Aberdeen grabbed a fourth when D'Jaffo turned a Clark cross into the net. Aberdeen finished the match laying siege to the visitors' goal without adding to the scoring. The damage had been done in the first half however, and The Dons now look forward to a trip to Dens Park on Saturday.