
Dons boss Derek McInnes today confirmed striker Sam Cosgrove will not be hit by a club fine for being sent off at Ibrox.
The 22-year-old was dismissed in the first half for a second yellow card.
McInnes slated the decision by referee Steven McLean as “astonishing” and insists Cosgrove has nothing to be sorry for.
Despite that setback, the Reds triumphed 1-0 to knock Rangers off the top of the Premiership table.
Scott McKenna’s superb early strike was enough to secure back to back wins in Glasgow over Rangers.
Aberdeen followed up October’s Betfred Cup semi-final defeat of Gers at Hampden.
McInnes hailed the Ibrox win as a “fantastic achievement” and a “shot in the arm” after the disappointment of losing the Betfred Cup final 1-0 to Celtic on Sunday.
However, he will not rap Cosgrove for a red that could have put that win in jeopardy following a challenge with Connor Goldson.
McInnes said: “Sam won’t be getting fined having seen it again.
“He has nothing to be sorry for. I saw it again and it just confirmed what I thought at the time. Sam gets the first touch. The ball goes into the Rangers end behind the goal and for me it is coming together.
“I don’t think it is a foul to anybody.
“If anything it is a foul to us. To deem that a yellow card, with the boy already on a yellow, I find it astonishing that he has been sent off for that.
“His teammates dug him out.
“Ferguson, Shinnie and Ball just put in one-and-a-half performances instead of the one.”
Parity was restored just after the hour mark when Columbian international striker Alfredo Morelos was also sent off for a second yellow card.
Morelos appeared to catch Dons skipper Graeme Shinnie with his arm in a fiery clash.
McInnes said: “It was a really difficult match for the referee to manage.
“Rangers, Aberdeen games, I have played in them and managed enough of them now as well.
“They are tough games to referee because both sets of fans expect their players to be fully committed.
“That is what we got, there were two committed teams and a lot of niggles, bumps and challenges.
“I just feel with the Cosgrove one maybe just take a breath on that and think of the consequences.
“I don’t see it as a yellow card and for that to accumulate into a red was the wrong decision.”
Aberdeen are now four games undefeated against Rangers.
This season the Reds have won two and drawn one of the head to heads against an expensively assembled Gers side where Steven Gerrard splashed in excess of £10 million in the summer.
Victory at Ibrox was a statement of intent on Aberdeen’s intention to not be usurped by the Ibrox club as Scotland’s second force.
It moved the Dons back up into the Premiership top six and slashed the gap on Rangers to six points – but the Reds have a game in hand.
McInnes hailed his Ibrox heroes.
He said: “It is a real shot in the arm when you see the players put so much in.
“We had to try and pick ourselves up off the floor after Sunday when we put a lot into the final.
“That was a disappointing result for us but I was pleased with a lot of the aspects of the actual game against Celtic. We spoke beforehand to the players about how we don’t just want to be a cup team. We have always prided ourselves on our league form over the last few seasons.”
The clash with Rangers was the first of eight Premiership games packed into December that could shape the campaign.
He said: “We wanted to try and make sure with a couple of home games in hand that we see the importance of each and every three points in December.
“The first three came at Ibrox and we knew we would have to do a lot of things right.”