Aberdeen lost for the fifth consecutive game as Motherwell punished the away side’s defensive frailties at Fir Park.
After a start that saw both sides fail to keep possession cleanly, Motherwell’s Dan Casey missed a sitter just before the 20-minute mark.
Andy Halliday whipped in a deep cross from the right which Casey met unopposed at the back post, but his headed effort went wide when it should have struck the back of the net.
Motherwell then had a strong spell midway through the first-half and they made Aberdeen pay for the away side’s sloppiness.
Tony Watt crossed from the right side of the box and it fell to young Ewan Wilson, who fired home a thunderous first-time effort into the net.
Aberdeen defensively – namely Jack MacKenzie and Angus MacDonald – were all over the place as it became apparent how much confidence they are lacking at the moment.
Things started to fall apart for the Dons when the most contentious call of the match was made by referee Nick Walsh.
Slobodan Rubezic was issued a straight red card – backed up by VAR – after the Dons defender motioned his head towards the chin of Tony Watt.
Motherwell then rubbed salt into the Aberdeen wounds almost immediately after the red card when defensively, the Pittodrie side were caught napping again.
A simple long ball was played over the top by Motherwell towards the impressive Tawanda Maswanhise, who took it down perfectly and smashed past Ross Doohan into the opposite corner.
MacDonald was at fault again and the three points were already looking very secure for the Steelmen as the half-time whistle sounded.
Aberdeen responded well at the start of the second-half and were agonisingly close to halving the deficit when Devlin flashed a shot across goal that was missed fractionally by Duk.
The game soon began to peter out as Motherwell seemed comfortable enough amid Aberdeen’s sinking belief that they could get anything out of the encounter.
The game finished 2-0 with Aberdeen now winless in 10 games, the last five of those consecutive defeats.
For Motherwell, they close the gap on the Dons to four points and move up to 5th in the Premiership at the expense of St Mirren. Here’s three things Not The Old Firm learned from today’s match.
Maswanhise shines for Motherwell
Zimbabwean winger Tawanda Maswanhise was a constant threat throughout the clash for Motherwell and ended up delivering the goal that sealed three points for his side.
Signed from Leicester City in the summer, Maswanhise gave the Aberdeen defence nightmares with his direct running, dribbling ability and pace to stretch the backline.
His goal was a piece of individual brilliance that saw him trap the ball down from the air expertly before showing no mercy with a lethal finish across goal.
With three goal involvements in his last six games, Maswanhise was easily the man of the match and it appears the Steelmen have a real gem on their hands.
Aberdeen have huge defensive concerns
Aberdeen were already up against it with Dimitar Mitov and Gavin Molloy both out injured for this afternoon’s clash – but their defending just could not be excused regardless.
Jack MacKenzie and Angus MacDonald were weak points at the back and Motherwell exposed the pair’s frailties with two goals down Aberdeen’s left-hand side.
Thelin desperately needs new defensive reinforcements in January to stem the flow of sloppy goals Aberdeen have been conceding over the last few weeks. Otherwise, it’s going to be a concern for the rest of the season.
Slobodan Rubezic red card controversy
MacDonald’s centre-half partner Slobodan Rubezic was left stunned when he was sent off for a headbutt on Tony Watt just before half-time.
A couple of angles appeared to show that there wasn’t much in the scuffle as Tony Watt did his best to make a meal of the contact.
But Rubezic’s intent was there as he motioned his head up towards Watt’s chin and referee Walsh spotted the misdemeanour straight away.
VAR decided to uphold Walsh’s original decision and it ultimately ended Aberdeen’s chances of getting back into the game because around a minute later, it was 2-0.