Aberdeen booked their place in the Scottish Cup quarter‑finals with a hard‑fought win over Motherwell in a chaotic Pittodrie encounter.
The match, which featured three red cards, saw Peter Leven’s side keep their season alive with a goal in each half. Kevin Nisbet opened the scoring with a superb free kick from the left edge of the box.
Moments earlier, Oscar Priestman’s costly slip brought down Lyall Cameron, prompting referee John Beaton to show the first red card inside just three minutes.
Buoyed by the early breakthrough, Aberdeen grew in confidence, but they too were reduced to ten men when Dennis Geiger was dismissed for a high challenge on Lukas Fadinger.
Motherwell’s night worsened when John Beaton again intervened, sending off Liam Gordon for tripping the onrushing Toyosi Olusanya. Initially shown a yellow card, the offence was upgraded to red following a VAR review, leaving the visitors with nine men.
Aberdeen ultimately sealed the result shortly after the hour mark. Captain Graeme Shinnie calmed the Pittodrie nerves with a precise left‑footed strike from 25 yards, drilling the ball into the bottom corner.
Leven’s side now turn their attention back to Premiership action against Dundee on Saturday, while Motherwell prepare for their trip to Paisley to face St Mirren.
Aberdeen: Bratveit, Devlin, Milne, McIntyre, Frame, Shinnie, Geiger, Cameron (Nilsen 85′) Milanovic (Olusanya 46′) Keskinen (Palaversa 46′) Nisbet (Lazetic 80′)
Motherwell: Connelly, Sparrow (Slattery 46′) McGinn, Gordon, O’Donnell, Priestman, Fadinger (Longelo 61′) Just (Said 68′)Charles-Cook (Nicholson 80′) Maswanhise, Bjorgolfsson (Watt 61′)
