Jimmy Calderwood hailed match-winner Chris Maguire after the striker fired Aberdeen into the SPL top six with a dream double against Falkirk.The visitors came into this contest occupying sixth spot in the standings and the Dons knew they had to win to move above their opponents in the final game before the league split.

Maguire's two goals proved to be the difference between the sides, as he added to his last-gasp header in last weekend's dramatic 4-3 victory at Inverness.

Against Falkirk, the striker opened the scoring in the 21st minute when he turned the ball into the net after Zander Diamond flicked on Scott Severin's throw-in, only for Carl Finnigan to equalise early in the second half following some calamitous goalkeeping by Derek Soutar.

The winner came with eight minutes remaining when Maguire rolled the ball in to the net from an acute angle after great work by Sone Aluko, leaving manager Calderwood to pay tribute to the efforts of his goalscorer.

He said: "Chris has dug us out again, from an unbelievable angle."

Calderwood thought that with the way Falkirk would set up, the game was tailor-made for Maguire to shine.

"He is a good player and we have been a little bit unfair to him because Darren Mackie, Lee Miller and Steve Lovell have been doing really well upfront," the Dons boss added.

"I thought Falkirk would play very deep and they did, which is unlike John, but I would have done exactly the same thing if I was him.

"There wasn't going to be space for Darren's pace in behind them so we chose Chris.

"He is good on the ball with his first touch and he has the awareness.

"Luckily enough he got two goals for us."

Maguire slotted in his second goal when stationed right next to the byline and while Calderwood did not know how the teenager managed to score, he revealed the player was equally clueless.

Calderwood said: "It was a very tight angle and Chris doesn't know himself how he got it in.

"If he tells you something else then he is lying because he told us he didn't know."

This match was another chapter in a storied season for Aberdeen, who have played the likes of Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup while enduring an inconsistent league campaign.

The Dons will face Queen of the South in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup on Saturday as the big games continue to come thick and fast, leaving Calderwood to joke his time at Pittodrie is starting to take its strain.

He said: "I am really only 30, but three years at this club ages you 20 years."

Falkirk boss John Hughes insisted he had no complaints with Maguire's winning goal.

Several Bairns players reacted with fury when the goal was awarded by referee Mike McCurry because they believed the ball had gone out of play before Aluko clipped it into Maguire's path.

Hughes was yet to see television pictures of the goal, but from speaking to others he believes the officials probably made the right call.

Even if they did not, Hughes maintained he would not criticise them.

He said: "That's football and even if it has (crossed the line), you just need to take it on the chin. There is nothing you can do about it.

"I wouldn't be critical of the officials in any shape or form. In fact, I felt Mike handled the game really well.

"Without seeing it again, I think they probably got it right.

"I spoke to one or two people and they felt it was in."

More Football News from TEAMtalk