Aberdeen manager Craig Brown was critical of his side's performance after their 1-1 draw with Queen of the South in the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

The Dons, who have made a habit of going out of cup competitions to lower-league opposition in recent seasons, looked set for another shock when Scott McLaughlin broke the deadlock for the Doonhamers.

However Scott Vernon spared Aberdeen's blushes with a close-range equaliser to earn the Dons a replay against Gus MacPherson's side at Palmerston Park.

Brown said:"I'm very disappointed but I have to acknowledge the excellent effort of the visiting team - all the credit goes to Queen of the South.

"Gus had a gameplan which his players carried out to perfection. I'm not critical of that as I think the way Queen of the South played was the way to play this match.

"They came here to try to get a goal on the break, which they did. All credit goes to the visiting team and very little credit goes to my own team and I take responsibility for a disappointing performance.''

But Brown is hopeful that his side will make amends when the sides meet again a week on Tuesday.

He added: "It will be difficult down in Dumfries but in front of their own fans they will have to come out and play more adventurous football.

"I don't think the home fans would be too pleased if they were to camp in but that will be Gus' decision. His decision today was totally vindicated with the result they got and they very nearly got a victory.

"Teams from a lower division can raise their game to compete in the cup and we have seen cup upsets so very often.

"Many people will tell us it has happened too often to Aberdeen and it nearly happened today. We are still in the cup and that is the one plus from today and hopefully we are able to do a bit better in the replay.''

Queen of the South assistant manager Andy Millen was pleased that his side managed to hold their own against the Dons - having been thrashed 5-0 by Kilmarnock in the Scottish Communities League Cup earlier in the season.

He said: "We are happy that we came up here and didn't disgrace ourselves as we played a Premier League team in Kilmarnock and we were embarrassed. Today we got our noses in front and I thought overall we competed very well against a good Premier League team.

"We are unbeaten in five now and the league is the most important thing for us because of where we are at the moment. We obviously want to be higher than that.

"The cup game will take care of itself and it is a bonus. I think the directors will be happy and I'm sure the fans will be out to make Palmerston a good atmosphere for what will hopefully be a good match.''