By Glen Lumsden
Following several postponements due to the extreme weather the city of Aberdeen had faced in the past few weeks, Aberdeen faced Motherwell in a rearranged fixture in the fifth round of the Men’s Scottish Cup at Pittodrie, with the winning team set to face championship side Dunfermline at East End Park in the quarter final.
This is the second time Aberdeen and Motherwell have clashed this week, with the North-East side travelling down to Fir Park to take on Jens Berthel Askou’s side. The Steelmen won 2-0 against interim manager Peter Leven’s outfit, the Dons being without a manager since Jimmy Thelin’s departure on the 4th January following a 1-0 defeat to Falkirk at the Falkirk stadium. The final result was not the greatest of surprises given the difference in league table with Motherwell finding themselves in 4th place, seven points behind Celtic in third. The Dons meanwhile are in 8th place, not really where fans imagined Aberdeen to sit following their triumph against Celtic on the 24th May 2025.
Despite being at home, Aberdeen were the underdogs against Motherwell with many expecting similar to what was displayed at Fir Park. Following a minute’s applause for Scottish Cup winner Tommy McMillian who sadly passed earlier this month, the game kicked off. There was almost immediate drama as in the second minute following a misplaced pass from Motherwell keeper Matthew Connelly who gifted the ball to Dennis Geiger, who was making his home debut for the Dons, Geiger passed it to Kevin Nisbet who threaded the ball into loanee Lyall Cameron who was through on goal before being tripped by Oscar Priestman, the referee sending Priestman off which resulted in a free kick at the edge of the box. Up steps Nisbet, who shoots past the wall and the ball nestles into the bottom corner, 1-0 Aberdeen. The Dons were in control since taking the lead. Both a goal and a player up, with Aberdeen comfortably holding possession and testing Connolly several times with Cameron unlucky not to double their lead. In the 22nd minute another twist in the tale would unfold as Geiger, attempting to win the ball from Lukas Fadinger, Geiger was sent off for serious foul play after a VAR review. Geiger was starting to show his qualities before being sent off, not the way the German would have wanted his home debut to end.
Both teams were down to ten now, and Motherwell grew into the game signified by their first shot of the game occurring in the 29th minute. Tawanda Maswanhise had a shot on the verge of halftime. Maswanhise being Motherwell’s top goal-scorer in an already excellent season for the Steelmen. Following spells of possession from both sides the referee blew the whistle and it was halftime with the Dons taking the lead.
Both sides would return having made changes, Aberdeen bringing on Ante Palaversa who
made his 50th appearance in red on Sunday and Toyosi Olusanya, who was dismissed against Motherwell during a 2-2 draw when he was at St Mirren. The Steelmen brought on Callum Slattery in place of Thomas Sparrow. Slattery found himself assisting Elijah Just’s equaliser the last time the two sides met at Pittodrie. Two minutes into the second half Olusanya robbed possession off Liam Gordon, who tripped the Dons loanee and was booked. The referee is once again sent to the monitor and following an extended VAR check, Gordon was dismissed. Aberdeen once again held the man advantage despite being down to ten. Motherwell were still not out of the tie however, and their individual qualities showed despite being down to nine players. Just should have equalised in the 53rd minute, however Jack Milne put in a perfectly timed challenge to ensure the Dons would keep their lead. Eventually Aberdeen would get the goal they wanted for security, and who else could it have been except captain Graeme Shinnie. He shot from outside the box and the ball weaved perfectly in the bottom corner to give the reds a foot into the quarter finals.
Motherwell were still full of spirit and were still giving it their all despite the two goal deficit.
Emmanuel Longelo and Ibrahim Said both had shots saved by Per Kristian Bratveit, another
player who was making his home debut and determined to keep a clean sheet to mark this
occasion. Both teams were still giving it their all, Aberdeen looking to put the fire out of the
spirited Steelmen and Motherwell desperate to find a way back into this cup tie. Both sides had several shots in the dying stages of the game, however neither side was successful in scoring. Maswanhise attempted to score in stoppage time however it was saved by Bratveit. The referee blew the whistle, Aberdeen had progressed into the quarter finals of the men’s Scottish Cup.
Aberdeen gave a strong performance against Motherwell, the Scottish Cup holders, excluding penalty shootouts, having last lost in the Scottish Cup to Darvel in 2023, an impressive feat for the North East side. Aberdeen haven’t really kicked on since their fateful win on the 24th May 2025, with Peter Leven once again at the helm following the dismissal of Jimmy Thelin. Leven coached Aberdeen at Hampden to a 3-3 draw during his last game managing in the Scottish Cup, with two stoppage time equalisers to take the game to extra time and penalties, where the Dons would eventually bow out. It is looking increasingly likely that Leven will remain as interim manager until the conclusion of the season, with Eirik Horneland being rumoured to take the helm from summer. Despite being a difference in leagues, Dunfermline have already knocked out premiership side Hibernian at East End Park. Aberdeen are again at home this Saturday where they face Dundee, 3pm kick off.
It is difficult not to feel any sympathy for Motherwell, despite such a large improvement in form following the appointment of Jens Berthel Askou. In such a strange season for Scottish football, Motherwell would have favoured another chance at Hampden, should they have progressed past Dunfermline. Motherwell in their last outing to Hampden lost 4-1 to the eventual winners of the League Cup, St Mirren. Motherwell are still sitting comfortably in the league in fourth place, only ten points behind league leaders Hearts, with a game in hand. Motherwell have made immense progress in these last twelve months, and if the Steelmen can keep hold of Askou and some of their key assets such as Maswanhise, perhaps silverware isn’t out of the question for next season. Motherwell are once again away, this time to St Mirren, a 7:30PM kickoff for the Steelmen, with the game live on Premier Sports.