Oday Dabbagh struck an 118th-minute winner to send Aberdeen into their first Scottish Cup final since 2017, capitalising on a dramatic collapse by a Hearts side reduced to nine men.
In a gripping semi-final at Hampden, Hearts saw Michael Steinwender dismissed late in the first half before Cammy Devlin picked up a second yellow card in the dying minutes of extra time.
Moments after Devlin’s exit, Dabbagh pounced on a rebound, smashing into the roof of the net after Craig Gordon had parried Dante Polvara’s low drive.
The match had already been an emotional rollercoaster.
Papa Gueye opened the scoring for Aberdeen in the first half when his towering header crashed off the bar, then rebounded off goalkeeper Gordon and into the net.
But Lawrence Shankland quickly equalised for Hearts, firing powerfully through Dimitar Mitov’s legs from James Penrice’s delivery.
Steinwender’s red card – for a last-man challenge on Topi Keskinen – shifted the momentum firmly in Aberdeen’s favour.
Although they dominated possession, Jimmy Thelin’s men struggled to break down a resilient Hearts defence, mustering just one shot on target before Dabbagh’s late heroics.
Aberdeen will now face either St Johnstone or defending champions Celtic in the final on May 24.
Hearts Brave but Ultimately Beaten
Hearts entered the tie without a win in three matches and nursing the disappointment of missing out on a Premiership top-six finish.
Despite that, they started brightly, with Jamie McCart slicing an early chance wide.
Shankland's return to the starting lineup seemed to lift the Edinburgh side, and for a while, they looked capable of pulling off a much-needed result.
But the sending-off of Steinwender, who couldn’t cope with Keskinen’s pace, forced manager Neil Critchley into drastic changes.
He withdrew strikers James Wilson and Elton Kabangu at half-time and deployed a deep 5-3-1 shape to weather the Aberdeen storm.
It nearly worked, but Devlin’s late dismissal—following a clumsy foul just outside the box—left Hearts vulnerable, and Aberdeen finally broke through.
Can Aberdeen End a 35-Year Wait?
Aberdeen had fallen short at the semi-final stage twice recently—once on penalties to Celtic in last year’s Scottish Cup, and again in a humiliating 6-0 defeat to the same opponents in this season’s League Cup.
This time, they looked determined to end the drought. While their performance was far from fluent, their persistence paid off.
Shayden Morris and Keskinen offered glimpses of danger, but Hearts’ compact shape restricted clear chances until the final moments.
Dabbagh’s strike, his fourth of the season, sealed Aberdeen’s place in their 17th Scottish Cup final.
With the chance to lift the trophy for the eighth time—and the first since 1990—the Dons will hope this is the year they finally scratch a 35-year itch.
What they said
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin: "Hearts started the game really, really well and we were under pressure. Obviously the red card helped us.
"Hearts gave everything they had to defend the goal, they had some set plays and transition so we had to be really calm and try not to make too many mistakes.
"I think the team did that really well. We had some patience and finally we scored a goal."
Aberdeen match-winner Oday Dabbagh: "It's a really incredible feeling I cannot explain. Thank you to the fans, I'm just so happy.
"It's a very important goal. I want to thank the staff and my team-mates for believing in me, they said I would finally get the goal and I did."
Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie: "We had to try and work something, we had a couple of chances and didn't take them.
"As a team we wanted to push and push as much as we could.
"We said before the game it didn't matter when the goal comes we just need to get through to the final and thankfully it came before full-time."
Hearts head coach Neil Critchley: "It really hurts. I'm gutted for the players, gutted for the supporters.
"I thought we were brilliant. The least we deserved was to take it to penalties.
"We were the better team in the first half and then to defend as well as we did for as long as we did with 10 men, I thought we showed real grit and character, not without opportunities ourselves."