Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson said his side's penalty shoot-out win over Kilmarnock can act as the catalyst to kickstart a stuttering season, after his 10-man team beat Killie 3-1 on spot-kicks in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final.
The tie finished 1-1 after 120 minutes at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock's home ground, with German goalkeeper Marius Muller saving three penalties in the shoot-out to send Aberdeen through. The win sparked a pitch invasion from Aberdeen supporters at full time.
Kevin Nisbet had put Aberdeen ahead early in the second half, but defender Dan Happe was sent off in the 57th minute, leaving the visitors with 10 men. Kilmarnock substitute Tyreece John-Jules equalised soon after with the extra man in hand.
Despite playing a man short, Aberdeen held out for extra time and pushed for a winner before the game went to penalties. Jack Milne converted the decisive spot-kick to send the Dons through to the semi-finals, which will be played at Hampden Park.
"The players showed what we see in training. They showed, to a man, their character and quality and that they can take on tactical information," Robinson said.
"You need catalysts during a season. It was always going to take time and, hopefully, we can kick on now."
Robinson defends his project at Pittodrie
Robinson has come under pressure after a start to the league campaign that has brought just four points from five games and stirred fan unrest. He said the shoot-out win proved the squad remained behind his methods.
"I know I've got the players behind me, I know they believe what we're doing. Anyone who thought it would be instant is wrong. It'll take two or three windows to do that," he said. "But they threw the shackles off and played forward with a purpose."
"You want to win first and foremost and I've proven I can do that. Nobody mentions style and young players when you win. When you lose, they mention style. I want possession with purpose and getting the ball in the box. You're getting players to adjust and believe."
Muller praised for shoot-out heroics
Robinson reserved special praise for Muller after his three saves settled the tie. "He was excellent. He did my team-talk. I didn't need to do one," he said.
"We did it with 10 men, we looked full of energy and defended brilliantly. You want characters and he made three great saves."
"I was so proud of the team. It's easy to give up and make an excuse. You could see the fans get right behind the team, which is great too. You are successful when everyone believes and you could see when the team were giving that energy and fight, the fans get behind the players."
Kilmarnock left to rue missed chances
Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann was scathing of his players for failing to make their numerical advantage count after Happe's red card, before John-Jules, Mark O'Hara and Aaron Tshibola all missed penalties in the shoot-out.
"It is a very cruel way to lose, but, with the extra man, the disappointment is we didn't do enough. It was a golden opportunity to go to a semi-final and we didn't take it," McCann said.
"The biggest thing was to take responsibility as an individual. An extra man gives you possession easier but you still have to do it and come up with something."
"Psychologically, the boys will be down and I really hope they are because I am hurting and all our fans are hurting."
McCann said Kilmarnock would need to respond quickly, with the club due to face Hibernian in midweek. "Professional sport doesn't allow you a lot of time to wallow in your misery from a result like this. It'll ask questions of you. I expect them to recover for Hibs. They shouldn't need lifting. They've let themselves down massively," he said.
"We tried to freshen it up because I felt they were flat and it was almost as if they were waiting for someone else to take responsibility and there was no spark. They've probably got a long night ahead of them."
