Derek McInnes hails Rangers’ perseverance to seal Premier Sports Cup final spot
Ryan Naderi grabbed the only goal with seven minutes remaining to send the Light Blues through to the December final.
Derek McInnes hailed Rangers’ “perseverance” after a late goal from Ryan Naderi beat Aberdeen to clinch a place in the Premier Sports Cup final at Barclays Hampden.
The Ibrox side struggled for the most part in a low-quality first half but came alive after the break and in the 83rd minute, after coming close on a series of occasions, Naderi converted a strike from James Penrice for a 1-0 win.
Rangers will face Hearts or Hibernian in the December 13 final, with the Edinburgh sides facing each other at the national stadium on Sunday.
McInnes said: “We arrived with the intention of getting to the cup final by hook or by crook and we done the job.
“So I am really pleased, delighted with the players in the main for their perseverance, for keeping going.
“I have been involved with lots of clubs, I have been involved at Rangers with a far more talented squad who have struggled to get through semi-finals.
“Semi-finals aren’t easy to get through, particularly when we played the way we did in the first half.
“We were ponderous. When we needed to be quicker when we needed to be calm in the final bit, we snatched and made poor decisions.
“To have 75 per cent possession and have 25 shots, it’s not good enough to only have five on target, that needs to be said.
“But that’s for another day, today is about getting through to the final.
“It is so important for this group of players to feel that, it is so important for the club and supporters to look forward to a cup final.
“We need to keep arriving at Hampden, we need to keep arriving at cup finals and get the job done to win trophies.
“But the better team won. I thought we looked the team more likely to score, a team who was chapping at the door for long periods and the goal took a bit longer to come.”
The Dons went into the game with five players missing due to injury or suspension, but boss Stephen Robinson praised they way they coped.
The Northern Irishman, who won the trophy with St Mirren last season, said: “Obviously disappointed with the result.
“They scored during our best spell in the game as well which is unfortunate.
“But considering the week we have had, it has been really tough with injuries and they showed great character and courage.
“I thought we were really well organised, I didn’t think Rangers looked like they were going to score but ultimately they are a very good team.
“They have players who can come on and win the game, they spend millions of pounds on those players and that was the difference between the sides today.”