Derek McInnes reaction

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes was delighted with the way his side started their William Hill Scottish Cup clash with Partick Thistle after Andrew Considine’s early goal sent them through.

Considine headed home from close range after Barry Robson had swung in a corner from the right to give Aberdeen a fourth-minute lead that they hung on to.

The Dons missed several good first-half chances and were resilient in defence as Thistle pushed for an equaliser.

Aberdeen had scored seven goals without reply in two Scottish Premiership meetings against Thistle this season and McInnes was just as satisfied with their 1-0 fourth-round win at Firhill.

McInnes said: “It was important Thistle saw an Aberdeen team that was ready to go again. They have taken a couple of sore ones from us.

“When you score an early goal sometimes it can put a bit of doubt into their heads, and there might have been an element of that because we were dominant in the first half.

“I felt our first-half approach and performance more than merited us going through.

“We are grateful that the opportunities we squandered never came back to bite us.

“While it’s 1-0 the game is always alive, especially in a cup tie. I thought Partick got against us in the second half and credit to them for doing that. We had to work harder to pass the ball and I didn’t think we quite did it to the level we are capable of.

“But the first half, I thought we did all aspects of the game very well. We were aggressive, energetic, physical, bright in possession. The only thing that was missing was a second goal.”

Robson was recalled after missing last weekend’s defeat at Celtic Park following his red card against Hearts and his selection was vindicated with the assist.

“When games are tight, a bit of quality can win you it,” McInnes said.

“Barry Robson can produce that type of quality. Andy was really aggressive in attacking it and it’s good to score from another set-play.”

Thistle boss Alan Archibald admitted the goal had derailed his side’s approach.

“The start kills us,” he said.

“It takes the wind out of your sails and kills your game plan. I thought it affected us in the first half to be honest.

“I know Barry Robson well and I know the quality he has from his set-plays and we had warned them about it.

“It’s something that has been a problem this season even though we have worked on it. I thought we had sorted it out last week because we defended well.

“When you give them a job to do, they must do it, and there is enough experience in there to organise.”

Archibald added: “I thought the second half was a lot better, we played the game in their half. We could have worked (Jamie) Langfield a bit more and things weren’t going for us in the box.”

Archibald added: “I thought the second half was a lot better, we played the game in their half. We could have worked (Jamie) Langfield a bit more and things weren’t going for us in the box.”

Archibald added: “I thought the second half was a lot better, we played the game in their half. We could have worked (Jamie) Langfield a bit more and things weren’t going for us in the box.”