Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup Semi-Final
Heart of Midlothian v Aberdeen
Saturday, 19 April 2025, kick off 12:30pm
Hampden Park, Glasgow

Hearts and Aberdeen contest the weekend's first Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup Semi-Final on Saturday, with both sides aiming to bounce back from last season's disappointment in the last four of this competition. 

The Jambos were edged out 2-0 by Rangers, while Aberdeen eventually lost on penalties after a 3-3 draw with Celtic, in one of the Scottish Cup's greatest ever Semi-Finals. 

Both sides have different faces in the dugout from 12 months ago, with Neil Critchley replacing Steven Naismith at Hearts and Jimmy Thelin taking over from then interim boss Peter Leven, who is now back among the Dons coaching ranks. 

The match is scheduled for a 12:30 kick off and is to be broadcast live on both Premier Sports and BBC One Scotland. 

Previous Meetings 

Remarkably, despite both sides having plenty of recent experience at Hampden, this is the first meeting between Hearts and Aberdeen at the National Stadium in almost 30 years. That meeting came in the 1995/96 Scottish Cup Semi-Final, with Hearts winning 2-1 thanks to goals from John Robertson and Allan Johnston, although the Dons are ahead in overall Scottish Cup meetings with Hearts, having won eight to Hearts’ three in the previous match-ups in this competition.

There has been little between the teams this season and they could not be separated in the last two matches which both ended up a draw. 

Aberdeen did come out on top in the first meeting of the season in the league, roaring back to win 3-2 after finding themselves 2-1 down with half an hour remaining.

Cup Form 

Eight-time Scottish Cup winners Hearts are on familiar ground, having reached the Semi-Final stage in the Scottish Cup five times in the last seven seasons. They lost 2-0 to Rangers last year, but had won the previous three semis before that - two victories over rivals Hibs and one win over Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Hearts were drawn away to Highland League Brechin City in the Fourth Round and their Scottish Cup campaign got off to a nightmare start when Scott Bright put Brechin ahead with one of the goals of the season. But Yan Dhanda scored a stunning goal of his own to make it 1-1 and an Elton Kabangu double and a Kevin McHattie own goal eventually made it 4-1 to the Edinburgh side. 

Hearts would take on St Mirrenin Paisley in Round Five and they were six minutes from elimination after Mikael Mandron's poked finish, but substitute Calem Nieuwenhof fired home from eight yards with his first touch to set up extra-time. The match would go all the way to penalties, when Hearts stopper Craig Gordon was the hero, saving from Oisin Smyth and James Scott, allowing left-back James Penrice to fire home the winning spot-kick.

The Jambos were drawn against Premiership opposition again in the last eight when Dundee came to Tynecastle for the first match of the weekend. In an entertaining game, Sander Kartum lit up Tynecastle under the Friday night lights, with the January signing scoring two goals from outside the box, either side of a Joe Shaughnessy header. Dundee's Simon Murray also scored an unfortunate own goal as Hearts won 3-1 in an entertaining match to secure their passage to the Semi-Finals.

Aberdeen have won this competition seven times, with the first win coming in 1947 and the most recent in 1990. They remarkably lifted the trophy four times between 1982 and 1986, while they have also lost in the final on nine occasions. 

They may have enjoyed a kinder draw then in previous seasons, with three games against lower league opposition, but the Dons have been imperious, scoring ten goals and conceding only one in their run to the semis.

Their win over Elgin City in Round Four has proved to be a bit of a turning point in their season, with Aberdeen running out 3-0 winners - through goals from Shayden Morris and a double from Duk - to end a run of 12 games without a victory.

The Dons have only lost twice since that match and they eventually proved too good for a spirited Dunfermline Athletic in the next round. After a tight first half, Pape Gueye opened the scoring just before half-time and Alexander Jensen's low finish made it 2-0. Kevin Nisbet then kickstarted his 2024/2025 season with a much-needed close range finish as the match finished 3-0.

Championship side Queen's Park had produced a famous win over Rangers at Ibrox in the Fifth Round but there would be no chance of an upset in the Quarter-Finals as the Dons put them to the sword. Goals from Nisbet, Oday Dabbagh and captain Graeme Shinnie had Aberdeen 3-0 up at the break and Dabbagh's tap-in made it 4-0 after half-time. Zak Rudden slotted home to pull a goal back but it was prove just a consolation as Aberdeen sealed a return to Hampden. 

They are now eyeing out a first final since 2017, when they lost narrowly to Celtic in a classic Hampden showpiece. 

Pre-Match Thoughts

Hearts' Cammy Devlin: “I’ve been here a few years now and I’ve beento Hampden a few times. That was a big motivator for me when we got knocked out of the League Cup earlier in the campaign, I thought I can’t go a season without getting to Hampden.

“These are the ones you really do look forward to. We know that our fans come and sell it out, and to be honest, since I’ve been here, it doesn’t really come as a surprise to me.

"It’s so good because you do really feel that support. We’ve got the backing and the fans have done everything they possibly can, so we as players have to turn up on the day and do really well.

“My first Hampden experience was the semi-final against Hibs (in 2022) and that took us to my first Scottish Cup Final, which at the time you don’t realise how special that is.

"And now that I’ve been there, I just want to do it again. The one thing that I really, really want to tick off is bringing the trophy back to Tynecastle, because I feel like that is some thing that the fans definitely deserve. I feel like that’s something to give back for the endless support that, not only I’ve had as an individual, but the whole team and the club’s had.”

Aberdeen's Leighton Clarkson: “Last year’s semi-final was a really good gameof football before we came out on the wrong end of penalties.

“It was a strange feeling afterwards, because it was hard to lose, but the way we came back twice was impressive. All those fine margins and decisions have tended to go against us. Hopefully they can go our way this time around and we can get the job done.

“It’s disappointing that we haven’t gone that final step of winning a final as yet, but reaching Hampden every season, fighting to win cups, that’s where I believe this club should be.

"Hopefully we can win through to the final and play at Hampden again in May. The atmosphere is always good at Hampden, I enjoy playing there. It’s a good day out for the fans and it’s a chance to showcase yourself as well. When you win, like we did against Hibs in the League Cup Semi-Final, there is no better feeling than that."

How to Watch

The match will be live on both Premier Sports and BBC One Scotland, with coverage on both beginning at 12pm.

Match Programmes 

Programmes are available now through Ignition Sport Media.

To purchase your copy online, click here.

Both B5 size 68-page publications are packed full of exclusive content from the semi-finalists, plotting their respective journeys to the final-four of the competition, as well as historical lookbacks and analysis

These official match-day publications are available around Hampden on matchday priced at £5 each, as well as available for home delivery from the above link.