A stunning Lewis Ferguson header powered Aberdeen into the Betfred Cup final as Rangers paid for their profligacy at Hampden.

The 19-year-old rose highest with 11 minutes to play to set up another showpiece clash with Celtic in December.

Steven Gerrard's side dominated for long periods and he was left to rue his players' inability to turn that dominance into goals as they let a number of chances pass them by.

The Rangers boss sprung a surprise by handing Umar Sadiq his first start for the club as Alfredo Morelos and Kyle Lafferty missed out.

The Colombian's killer instinct was badly missed as Aberdeen once again showed the spirit that has defined them under Derek McInnes.

They started on the front foot as a slack pass from Joe Worrall placed Ovie Ejaria into bother and he was carded inside the first minute after being forced to haul down his man. Graeme Shinnie followed the Rangers man into the book moments later for a robust challenge on Daniel Candeias and the tone for the afternoon was well and truly set.

Sadiq's first involvement was to head a floated James Tavernier free-kick over the bar before Gary Mackay-Steven put down an early marker by leaving Jon Flanagan in his wake.

Candeias responded by dolling out the same treatment on Shay Logan but neither winger was able to pick out a team-mate with their crosses in a lively opening period.

Mackay-Steven had the Scouse full-back on toast again shortly after to help carve out the first real opportunity of the game, picking out Scott Wright in the box who in turn set up Niall McGinn to sidefoot an effort over the bar under pressure.

Not content with being outdone, Candeias then turned Scott McKenna inside out as Rangers responded immediately. Ovie Ejaria just about kept his feet on the edge of the box after the Portuguese's resulting cross was cleared, but he too failed to direct a curling effort on target.

Rangers were dominating possession as the half-hour mark approached without finding the cutting edge that also eluded them against Spartak Moscow.

Candeias and Ryan Kent switched wings briefly and both men saw long range efforts sail harmlessly clear of Joe Lewis' bar in the space of a minute.

A lengthy break in play followed as Andy Considine clashed heads with Lassana Coulibaly and was left lying motionless on the turf. A stretcher was immediately called and medical staff tended to the Dons defender with real caution for several minutes before he was eventually taken off the pitch.

As play restarted, Mackay-Steven resumed his role as Aberdeen's primary threat, running Flanagan to the byline again before clipping a cross that left Allan McGregor scrambling to tip over the bar.

The Rangers keeper was lucky to escape punishment moments later as he barged Mackay-Steven to the ground after the whistle had gone for offside.

As eight minutes of first-half stoppage time were signalled, Kent darted into the box and hit the deck under a challenge from Shinnie.

Near three-quarters of Hampden screamed penalty but John Beaton was unmoved, ensuring it remained goalless at the break.

Rangers remained the more likely after the interval, Kent again blazing over from distance before Tavernier finally managed to work Joe Lewis with a low effort.

Kent's dangerous cutback was cleared before Ejaria also failed to find a man from a similar position.

With no end product in front of him, Connor Goldson decided to take matters into his own hands, steaming forward only to be brought down by McKenna 25 yards out.

Tavernier scooped the resulting free-kick over the upright and a frantic few minutes passed with still no breakthrough.

Coulibaly was next to miss the target, scuffing wide after a corner fell right at his feet with no one near him, but the pressure was building.

Ejaria and Kent combined beautifully to work an opening down the left again but the Dons continued to throw bodies in the way and another opportunity missed left Gerrard frustrated on the touchline.

At the other end, Ferguson's run and cross was snuffed out by the stretching McGregor as the Dons made a rare foray forward.

The game appeared to be drifting towards extra-time before Ferguson rose incredibly in the box to power home McGinn's whipped delivery from a corner.

It was a stunning leap and header from the youngster and it sent the Red Army into raptures behind the goal.

Sadiq's late booking for diving compounded Rangers' misery as they were unable to respond to Ferguson's sucker-punch.

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Talking points

Sadiq misses his chance

With Alfredo Morelos and Kyle Lafferty missing, Gerrard turned to the man he told he must improve on "everything" to be worthy of a spot in his team just last month.

The Rangers boss hinted last week that the towering on-loan Roma striker could come into contention but it was still a huge surprise when he was named in the starting eleven, having not played for the first team since a late cameo against Kilmarnock in August which took his total pitch up time up to a whopping 26 minutes.

Sadiq's inclusion was the big pre-match story but once the action started he was somewhat of a peripheral figure. The Nigerian started on the front foot, heading over from an early free-kick but he was caught offside needlessly on a handful of occasions and didn't do much to trouble McKenna or Mikey Devlin.

The combativeness that makes Morelos such a handful isn't a part of Sadiq's armoury and the Colombian was an obvious miss for Gerrard's side.

Flying Fergie

Aberdeen were crying for someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck and this youngster with the ever-growing reputation was the man to do it. Where his more experienced team-mates had struggled to impose themselves on the game, the 18-year-old produced a moment to remember for the Dons legions at Hampden.

His determination to make McGinn's cross his own was stunning and he powered his header beyond a helpless McGregor in the Rangers goal. An incredible moment for Ferguson and one that will live with him forever.

Dons defiant

Derek McInnes declared Rangers would see the real Aberdeen at Hampden and although they were second-best for much of this clash they once-again displayed that knack for grinding out results.

Perhaps it was a tactical move to allow Rangers the bulk of possession but there was little threat from the Pittodrie men until Ferguson towered above everyone else to power home the winner. Since their League Cup triumph in 2014, the Dons have been perennial nearly men in knockout competition, losing to Celtic in two finals in 2016/17 perhaps the most painful hard luck tale.

But this hard-fought victory has earned them another crack at major silverware and could be the catalyst needed to kickstart a stuttering Premiership campaign as well.

Gers pay for blunt attack

Regardless of the scale of the rebuild facing Gerrard when he swept into Ibrox back in May, he'll have known that the demand for silverware at Rangers has never lessened. The rookie manager has lifted the club, revamped the squad and embarked on a run to the Europa League group stage that few expected.

But it's on the domestic scene where Gerrard will ultimately be judged and on his first trip to Hampden his side failed to come up with the answers. They will look back on chances missed and a frustrating lack of end product.

Time and again they took up threatening positions but the quality needed was lacking at the vital moments. A real hard one to take for the Rangers boss.

All's well that ends well

After the all the fuss, backtracking and club statements this clash rounded off the biggest weekend Scottish football has seen for some time. Aberdeen were left red-faced as they were forced to hand back a chunk of their ticket allocation after demanding to be placed on a level-footing with Rangers.

But that all felt like a distant memory inside an almost packed Hampden that was absolutely rocking ahead of kick-off. We weren't served up a classic on the pitch but there was a buzz around the game not often seen ahead of this Super Sunday special.

Lessons must be learned from the organisational chaos but with over 100,000 fans packed into two stadiums and countless more watching at home, it's hard to dispute that this was a day to remember.

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