Glasgow holds no fears as bold Dons eye Celtic scalp in semi

● Having beaten Rangers at both Ibrox (twice) and Hampden, Aberdeen feel they are moving closer to matching champions

Having firmly established that facing Rangers in Glasgow no longer holds any fears, Niall Mcginn believes Aberdeen are now ready to end their long barren run against Celtic at Hampden.

The Dons booked their latest trip to the national stadium in compelling style on Tuesday night with a 2-0 Scottish Cup quarter-final replay win over Rangers at Ibrox.

On the back of their League Cup semi-final victory over Steven Gerrard’s side at Hampden in October and a 1-0 Premiership win in Govan in December, it is the first time Aberdeen have ever beaten Rangers three times in Glasgow in a single season.

Derek Mcinnes’ men are becoming away-day specialists, currently on a nine-match undefeated sequence on the road which stretches back to November. That run includes last Saturday’s 0-0 league draw at Celtic Park, where they also secured a 1-0 win on the final day of last season.

According to former Celtic winger Mcginn, who opened the scoring for Aberdeen on Tuesday night, there is a growing sense that the Pittodrie men are now capable of upsetting the odds in Glasgow against the Scottish champions when it matters most.

It is 27 years since Aberdeen last defeated Celtic at Hampden, Eoin Jess scoring the only goal of a League Cup semifinal, and they have suffered six straight defeats in the subsequent meetings of the clubs in Mount Florida.

That includes losses in three domestic cup finals under Mcinnes in the last two seasons but Mcginn is optimistic they can buck that trend when they face Celtic in next month’s Scottish Cup semifinal at Hampden.

“Anything can happen in semi-finals and finals and we’ve had chances to beat Celtic at Hampden before,” said Mcginn. “We’ve been closer to them. We’ll worry about the semi-final when it comes around in April but we’re not far away [from beating Celtic]. We know we have to defend well against them and take our chances when they come around.

“Being at a big club like Aberdeen, you enjoy getting to semi-finals and finals. We want to go a step further and win the trophy. We’ve got another opportunity to get to a final and there’s no bigger task than beating Celtic but we will look forward to the challenge when it comes.”

Mcginn, who has played for Aberdeen in all three of the cup final defeats by Celtic over the last three seasons, felt the latest triumph over Rangers was a firm indication of the stronger mentality the Dons now possess on the bigger occasions.

“We showed great maturity and composure to put on a performance like we did at Ibrox,” added the 31-year-old. VERSUS RANGERS

28 Oct: Won 1-0

Lewis Ferguson’s late goal won the Betfred Cup semi at Hampden.

5 Dec: Won 1-0

Three days after cup final defeat, Dons bounced back to win at Ibrox thanks a Scott Mckenna goal.

13 Mar: Won 2-0

A first Scottish Cup win for the Dons over Rangers since 1984.

Goals from Niall

Mcginn and Connor Mclennan, pictured, won the quarter-final tie.

VERSUS CELTIC

29 Sept: Lost 1-0

Narrow league defeat, Scott Sinclair scoring in second half.

2 Dec: Lost 1-0

Ryan Christie got the only goal in a tightly contested Betfred Cup final.

9Mar:drew0-0

Solidly-won point at Celtic Park. 3 Niall Mcginn, left, celebrates Aberdeen’s 2-0 Scottish Cup quarter-final replay win at Ibrox. He believes the Dons are not far away from beating Celtic, their semi-final foes.

“In my time at Aberdeen, we had won at Ibrox a couple of times before. But having to go there in a replay, on the back of a 1-1 draw at home when we were disappointed at not seeing the game out, made it look like an uphill task for us.

“Even in the last few years, though, that fear factor hasn’t been there against Rangers in Glasgow. We have finished above them in the league and we are also on such a good run on the road this season.”

Now approaching the stage of his career where he is classed as a veteran, Mcginn was enthused by the contributions of teenagers Lewis Ferguson, Dean Campbell and second goalscorer Connor Mclennan on Tuesday.

“For those young lads, and also Max Lowe and Dom Ball, to play like that in front of a packed house at Ibrox is a great learning curve for them,” said the Northern Ireland international.

“For us older guys to see that, it is great for Aberdeen in the future. They will always remember nights like Tuesday and take confidence from that.

“We knew we’d have to take our chances in the game and it was great to score as early as I did. I managed to read the pass [Glen Kamara made for Rangers] and took it well. The second goal from Connor in the second half gave us a bit of a cushion to see the game out.

“Rangers threw everything at us but we were solid throughout our team, from Stevie May leading the line all the way back to Joe Lewis in goal.

“It was a great performance but we have to put the Scottish Cup on the back burner now and get back to winning ways in the league at home to Livingston on Saturday.”

By Stephen Halliday

Unless Steven Gerrard can engineer one of the most improbable comebacks ever seen in a Scottish league title race, Rangers are now on the verge of recording their longest ever period between major domestic honours.

Since the Ibrox club first established themselves as a trophy-winning powerhouse, the eight years from their 1903 Scottish Cup triumph to lifting the league crown in 1911 has been their most barren run in pursuit of silverware.

Tuesday night’s elimination from the Scottish Cup at home to Aberdeen was the latest shattering setback in their current quest for a first major trophy since Walter Smith led them to SPL title glory in 2011.

With Celtic holding an eight-point lead over Rangers at the top of the Premiership table with nine rounds of fixtures left, Gerrard’s prospects of tangible success in his first season as manager are, at best, remote.

But while the former Liverpool and England captain will ultimately be judged on whether he can restore Rangers to the winners’ enclosure in Scottish football, he has earned the right to avoid snap assessments of his longer term suitability for the Ibrox job.

It is all too simplistic to compare his win ratio this season with those of recent predecessors such as Pedro Caixinha and Mark Warburton as some observers have done.

That ignores the fact Gerrard bridged another significant eight-year gap for Rangers this season, leading them through four qualifying rounds of the Europa League and into the group stage of a European tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.

For Rangers chairman Dave King, who personally