Motherwell ended their interest in
the Scottish Cup with a self-destructive performance at Pittodrie.
Those ten, then nine, who remained on
the field of play to stick to the game plan deserve praise for their efforts
but they could not overcome the greater number of opponents.
Jens Berthel Askou made half a dozen
changes as he tried to spread the load over a busy spell of games but he must
have had a pause when he saw his young ‘keeper give the ball away inside the
opening two minutes. Seconds later Oscar
Priestman lost his footing as he attempted to stop Lyall Cameron at the end of
the box. John Beaton produced a red
card.
A busy man
Kevin Nisbet scored from the free
kick and for the next twenty minutes Aberdeen had the upper hand. Balance was restored when Dennis Geiger was
given a red card after a VAR consultation.
His high foot into Lukas Fadinger’s stomach had crossed the threshold.
Motherwell took control and pressed
for the equaliser. They had a series of
corners but little real goal threat.
Not content with conceding numerical
advantage at the start of the first half Motherwell repeated the error at the
start of the second period. Liam Gordon
ambled into the centre circle and needlessly lost the ball to Toyosi Olusanya. Gordon, on the deck, tripped him and after
awarding a yellow Beaton was sent to the monitor only to return with a red. Later Askou was to say that the decision
would “remain a mystery to me”.
The game was now 9v10 and Motherwell were
at a huge disadvantage. Substitutes were
used to relieve tiring legs but throughout the remainder of the game the
Steelmen remained true to their philosophy.
Aberdeen scored the killing goal with
a well placed drive from captain Shinnie.
Tawanda Maswanhise and Eli Just produced moments to give the travelling
fans a moment’s hope but there was to be no miraculous revival.
Motherwell got a standing ovation for
the determination and hard graft they demonstrated under such difficult
circumstances and the same fans will travel to Paisley on Saturday as league
action returns.
Aberdeen 2 Motherwell 0
Attendance 9,744
Team:
Connolly, Sparrow (Slattery 45), McGinn, Gordon, O’Donnell, Charles-Cook (Nicholson
80), Fadinger (Longelo 61), Priestman, Just (Said68), Bjorgolfsson (Watt 61),
Maswanhise
Wednesday
18 February 2026
