Derek McInnes praised his Aberdeen side after they made the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup in "Kansas" conditions.

The Dons were two goals up inside half an hour after Niall McGinn followed up an early Daryll Meggatt own goal.

But Alan Forrest gave the home side a lifeline to hold on to at Somerset Park and the Honest men gave McInnes' side some late scares as they pushed for an equaliser.

"It's never easy, just look at last night's results," he said. "We had to come here and fight but I thought my players were magnificent during the first half when we controlled the game.

"I thought the players dealt with the conditions well. Coming out for the second half it was like Kansas with the wind and rain. It was a typical cup tie and you've seen teams getting dumped out in conditions like that. So I'm delighted to get through.

"With the amount of chances we missed, hitting the bar twice and post twice, you begin to think you'll need another goal because the spirit and determination of Ayr kept them going.

"So as much as I have to praise my players for getting through a tough tie I have to praise the Ayr United players for the effort they put in.

"Hopefully we can get to the final and look back on this tie and say it was so important we got through that night."