Aberdeen are safely into the draw for the quarter final of the Scottish Cup after victory over Dunfermline.
It was a deserved win but it wasn’t all that straightforward against the Championship outfit, Pape Gueye heading the home side in front just before half-time and Alexander Jensen doubling their advantage just after it.
Kevin Nisbet wrapped up the win late on as he finally got back on the scoresheet.
Up until that point, the Dons had been in the ascendancy but huffed and puffed as they continued to look like a side short in confidence.
The Pars continued to push and thought they would get the chance to score from the penalty spot when Ephraim Yeboah was clipped by Jack MacKenzie. But VAR established the foul occurred outside the box and Ewan Otoo’s free-kick was saved by Ross Doohan.
Aberdeen not as convincing as scoreline suggests
This game wasn’t as one-sided as the game suggests.
Aberdeen were the dominant side, as they would be expected to be, but looked to be heading for half-time level until Pape Gueye’s header.
They hadn’t looked all that threatening, with confidence low after their recent dire run of form.
Jensen’s goal also came at a good time to hand them some breathing space, but even at 2-0 it didn’t feel all that safe until Nisbet put the seal on things.
Plenty of Pars positives
New Dunfermline boss Michael Tidser already has a brilliant Fife derby win over Raith Rovers as an early sign that he can turn things around.
And there were plenty of signs of life within his team today despite going down 3-0 against Premiership opposition.
From a defensive point of view, they had done reasonably well to deal with the Dons until Gueye found a way through.
And they also had something about them going forward too, with decision making perhaps the thing needing worked on most, as highlighted by Lewis McCann’s blazed shot over the bar with a teammate in a better position.
Aberdeen turning point?
Despite what we said earlier, there are also positives for Jimmy Thelin to take away from this too.
His time showed a degree of ruthlessness in front of goal when their chances came along, which is one of the things that has been sorely lacking.
The likes of Kevin Nisbet can take confidence from getting on the scoresheet and the team as a whole needs to use this as a potential turning point for their season.
The Dons were standing by Jimmy Thelin but a cup exit at the hands of lower league opposition could have changed things, so it is a big result for him personally too.