Aberdeen 2 Motherwell 0: 10-man Dons edge out nine-man Well in Scottish Cup thriller

Aberdeen showed they are up for the fight of retaining their Scottish Cup as the beat Motherwell 2-0 in their fourth round tie at Pittodrie.

The Dons shook off a disappointing league campaign to beat the Steelmen in a pulsating cup-tie which featured three red cards.

Kevin Nisbet’s free kick and a Graeme Shinnie strike was enough to give the Dons victory and with it a trip to Dunfermline in the quarter-final on Saturday, March 7.

Here’s three things we learned from a night of high drama at Pittodrie.

Dons’ Scottish Cup winners lead the way

Both managers rang the changes with their respective team selections for the cup-tie following Well’s 2-0 league win on Sunday.

Dons interim boss Peter Leven made four changes from Fir Park with Liam Morrison and Alexander Jensen left out of the squad while Toyosi Olusanya and Afeez Aremu dropped to the bench.

Captain Graeme Shinnie and Jack Milne returned from suspension while Nicky Devlin and Nicolas Milanovic were also named in the starting line-up.

On a night where the Dons put their status as Scottish Cup holders on the line, Leven turned to three men who played huge roles at Hampden last May in Shinnie, Milne and Devlin.

The captain, not for the first time, rose to the big occasion when it mattered most as he drilled home the crucial second goal.

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou made six changes from the weekend as Matty Connelly, Liam Gordon, Stephen O’Donnell, Lukas Fadinger, Regan Charles-Cook and Eythor Bjorgolfsson all came into the side.

Stephen Welsh was cup-tied while Callum Ward, Emmanuel Longelo, Elliot Watt, Ibrahim Said and Callum Slattery all dropped to the bench.

Red card drama at Pittodrie

Referee John Beaton was certainly kept busy in a pulsating cup-tie.

The tone was set from kick-off as they were handed a dream start by the Steelmen.

Well goalkeeper Connelly’s poor ball gifted Aberdeen possession as Dennis Geiger found Kevin Nisbet who sent Lyall Cameron through on goal, only for the on-loan Rangers midfielder to be sent sprawling by visiting defender Oscar Priestman.

Beaton brandished the red card and the Dons took full advantage from the resulting free kick as Nisbet stepped up to curl the ball around the wall and beyond Connelly to give the Dons the lead.

It was an early double blow for the visitors and Aberdeen seized on the opportunity as they surged forward in search of a second goal.

But Geiger’s enthusiasm cost him dear in a first half full of drama.

The German had been excellent in the opening 20 minutes, linking up play brilliantly with Shinnie and Cameron, but his desire to influence proceedings led to him being dismissed midway through the first half.

The midfielder was fully committed in going to win a bouncing ball but he caught Motherwell’s Fadinger waist high.

Referee Beaton initially brandished a yellow but having been sent to review the challenge by VAR he changed the caution to a red card to make it 10 against 10.

Well reduced to nine

Incredibly, the 10 men of Well were reduced to nine at the start of the second half when Liam Gordon tripped substitute Olusanya after being dispossessed on the halfway line.

Beaton showed a yellow before again being asked to review the incident. Following a lengthy review the official changed his yellow to a red and Aberdeen regained the initiative.

Tempo from the Dons was excellent

Motherwell’s passing game has won many admirers in Scottish football this season, but Aberdeen worked tirelessly against the visitors to knock them out their stride.

Having the extra-man advantage for the opening 20 minutes certainly helped and the Dons had some terrific chances to add to Nisbet’s early opener with Connelly redeeming himself for his early poor pass by making an outstanding save to keep out Cameron’s shot which was destined for the top corner.

Aberdeen’s grip on proceedings was altered following Geiger’s dismissal but they still had the best chances of the game and Nisbet tested Connelly again before the break.

On a night where Well hit the self-destruct button Gordon’s red card at the start of the second half handed Aberdeen control again as Shinnie drilled home a second in the 64th minute to double his side’s lead.

Teams

ABERDEEN (4-3-3): Bratveit 6, Devlin 6, Milne 7, McIntyre 7, Frame 6, Shinnie 7, Geiger 3, Cameron 7 (Heltne Nilsen 85), Milanovic 5 (Olusanya 46), Nisbet 6 (Lazetic 80), Keskinen 5 (Palaversa 46).

Subs not used: Mitov, Bilalovic, Molloy, Aremu, Lobban.

MOTHERWELL (4-2-3-1): Connelly 6, Sparrow 5 (Slattery 46), McGinn 6, Gordon 5, O’Donnell 6, Priestman 2, Fadinger 5 (Watt 62), Just 6 (Said 69), Charles-Cook 6 (Nicholson 81), Maswanhise 5, Bjorgolfsson 5 (Longelo 62).

Subs not used: Ward, McGhee, Ross, McAllister.

Referee: John Beaton 7.

Attendance: 9,744.

Man of the match: Graeme Shinnie.

[Source: Press and Journal]