Motherwell’s ten men lost 1-0 to Aberdeen at Pittodrie. A red card turned the game.
Jack Vale left the field ten minutes into the second half and with him went Motherwell’s chances. The home side scored five minutes later and only resolute defending and poor finishing prevented a bigger defeat.
An unchanged Motherwell eleven started the game on the front foot and their lively approach forced Roos into an early save from Stephen O’Donnell. The home side posed no threat until Bojan Miovski threw himself at a high ball to Liam Kelly’s left.
No joy from this last chance
A break from the visitors ended with a shot from Theo Bair that earned a corner. Shane Blaney got a head on the delivery from Blair Spittal only to see it headed off the goal line.
There was nothing between the teams at the break but the red card changed the game early in the second period. A ball across the middle of the park dropped over Jack Vale’s shoulder and as he connected with the ball he also found Jack MacKenzie’s midrift. The referee produced the red card.
The only goal of the game followed after five minutes. A corner was headed in off Kelly’s far post by Stefan Gartenmann. Aberdeen took command for the rest of the afternoon.
Stuart Kettlewell committed all five substitutes by the end but barring a flurry in the final few minutes there was never a prospect of an equaliser. Aberdeen piled into the ‘Well box and Kelly did well to prevent further loss.
Aberdeen 1 Motherwell 0
Team: Kelly, O’Donnell (Mugabi 81), Blaney, McGinn, Gent (Shaw 88), Casey (Halliday 70), Miller (Moses 81), Zdravkovski (Nicholson 70), Spittal, Bair, Vale
Saturday 27 April 2024