Aberdeen secured third place in the Bank of Scotland Premier League and qualified for the UEFA Cup next season thanks to a superb performance against Rangers.

Scott Severin opened the scoring with a stunning long-range drive and Steve Lovell doubled the Dons' advantage before the interval courtesy of a cool flicked finish not long after he had struck the crossbar.

For their part Rangers were well below par and although substitute Chris Burke hit the woodwork with a bending shot, Aberdeen thoroughly deserved the victory.

With Aberdeen having everything to play for, it was no surprise they tried to take the game to Rangers early on, although the Dons' enthusiasm was hampered at times by possession being squandered too easily in midfield.

The pace was high but chances were hard to come by as the defenders looked in control until the breakthrough eventually arrived in the 20th minute.

Barry Nicholson got to Michael Hart's free-kick just ahead of David Weir and when the ball broke to Severin 30 yards from goal, the former Hearts' midfielder crashed a stunning half-volley past Allan McGregor.

Lovell was the far too zealous when he tried to beat McGregor to the ball and took out the Rangers' goalkeeper with a terrible tackle.

Lovell was rightly cautioned for the challenge, which prompted intense arguments amongst a host of players from both sides, while McGregor was shown a yellow card for his reaction.

Aberdeen quickly composed themselves though and in the 29th minute Lovell got on the end of a flick from Lee Miller before spinning to hook a shot over McGregor which struck the bar.

But the 26-year-old did not have to wait long for another chance to score and this time he took it with aplomb.

Great link-up play between Darren Mackie and Lovell on the left wing opened up a static Rangers rearguard and after being played through on goal, Lovell showed great composure to deftly nudge the ball past a stranded McGregor from a tight angle.

The Dons ended the first period well on top and continued to keep Rangers at bay following the restart, so much so that the Ibrox club's top scorer Kris Boyd was substituted after being booked for a foul on Zander Diamond.

Given that Rangers could not play their way in behind Aberdeen's resolute defence, a shot from distance looked the most likely way to goal for the visitors and in the 71st minute Burke was unfortunate to see a curling effort clip the top of Jamie Langfield's bar on its way over.

However, despite coming close to pulling one back, Burke almost gifted Aberdeen a third goal when he was caught in possession on the edge of his area.

Lovell tried to slip the ball under the advancing McGregor, but this time the keeper won their personal duel thanks to a good save.

With eight minutes remaining, Alan Hutton's frustrations boiled over as he crudely scythed down Richard Foster and the right back picked-up a booking from referee Craig Thomson, as did Mackie for his enraged response to the foul.

Hutton made up for his misdemeanour with a brilliant tackle on Lovell after Craig Brewster had played in his strike partner.

Aberdeen then had to rely on Langfield pushing away an injury-time Adam free-kick.