Motherwell hit back to down Aberdeen in Scottish Cup

Motherwell drew level with a deflected shot from Kevin van Veen

Motherwell came from behind to beat Aberdeen for the third time this season and reach the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.

But Kevin van Veen levelled with a deflected shot and Connor Shields netted on the stroke of half-time.

The home side had chances to extend their lead before Liam Kelly saved from Ramirez deep into added time.

It was a great diving stop from Kelly, who had little to do for most of the second half, as space opened up for the Dons striker during a frantic finale.

However, extra-time would have been harsh on the hosts, who carried a far greater threat after a shaky start.

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Just three minutes had passed when Ramirez stole in between two defenders to power in a header from Ross McCrorie's cross.

It was the American's 15th goal of the season and he was almost celebrating number 16 moments later when his lob from the edge of the penalty area drifted just wide.

Joe Efford had found the net with a composed finish prior to the opening goal, with Motherwell boss Graham Alexander insistent that the offside decision was wrong.

With the howling wind and rain at their backs, the hosts soon took a grip on the game and Shields threatened with a header before Van Veen equalised.

Adam Montgomery's weak clearance was charged down and the Dutch striker snaffled the loose ball to stride forward and unleash a shot from the right edge of the box, which took a deflection on its way inside the far post.

It was his fourth goal against the Dons this season, following two 2-0 league wins for the Steelmen.

Sean Goss rattled a shot into the side-netting and it was from the Motherwell midfielder's free-kick that a sliding Liam Donnelly somehow steered the ball wide from inside the six-yard box.

The Aberdeen defence was really creaking as half-time approached and Alexander's side found the goal their pressure merited when keeper Gary Woods failed to deal with a Goss corner and Shields was able to roll in a shot from close range.

Motherwell, who last lifted the Scottish Cup in 1991, continued to carve open the best openings in the second half, with Woods clawing away a Van Veen shot before the same player was denied by a defender's block after the goalkeeper spilled a corner.

The lively Efford hammered a shot just over and Mark O'Hara went even closer with a powerful effort that grazed the top of the crossbar.

The opportunities kept coming for a third home goal as Van Veen curled a strike wide after a misjudgement from David Bates while Woods was able to stop another crashing shot from the same player.

Aberdeen came to life very late on, with a raking strike from Lewis Ferguson whizzing wide on 88 minutes, while Connor Barron also went close from distance before Ramirez was denied by Kelly in the dying moments of stoppage time.

The Dons have only managed one win in seven outings in 2022, against League 2 Edinburgh City in the last round, and the large visiting support reacted with fury on the final whistle.

Man of the match - Kevin van Veen

Kevin van Veen was a real handful for the Aberdeen defence and could have been celebrating a hat-trick on another day