Motherwell vs Aberdeen. Scottish Cup Semi-Final.
Hampden ParkAttendance18,470.
Saturday 14 April 2018 18:12, UK
Curtis Main struck twice as Motherwell swept aside Aberdeen 3-0 at Hampden to reach the Scottish Cup final.
Main and Ryan Bowman scored inside two minutes of each other midway through the first half of the last-four showdown.
And Main struck his eighth goal since joining from Portsmouth in January when he raced from the halfway line to net on the counter-attack in the 66th minute.
There was more than a hint of handball in the build-up to the opener but the Betfred Cup runners-up ended up convincing winners and now have another shot at silverware.
Aberdeen made the brighter start but Motherwell's midfield trio of Campbell, Rose and Liam Grimshaw soon got on top through hard work and desire.
The Dons had snuffed out Motherwell's physical threat in their recent 2-0 win at Fir Park but they were unable to deal with Trevor Carson's long free-kick as Motherwell took the lead in the 20th minute.
Arnason could only head behind him and Richard Tait got in front of Dominic Ball, who stopped to appeal after the ball bounced off the stand-in skipper's arm. Referee Kevin Clancy was unmoved and Tait continued, affording Main a tap-in from his cut-back.
Aberdeen's defending was even less impressive three minutes later. McKenna sliced a clearance back to the edge of his box and Bowman outmuscled Arnason before finishing at the second attempt after Joe Lewis had spilled his volley.
Bowman cut inside Arnason and forced a save from Lewis moments later before Motherwell set about protecting their lead.
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes had to speed up his inevitable reshuffle when Nwakali went over on his ankle two minutes before half-time but substitute Gary Mackay-Steven soon set up their first real chance, only for Stevie May to screw well wide from 10 yards.
Aberdeen made little impact going forward in the early stages of the second half, though, and McInnes went for broke in the 61st minute with winger Niall McGinn replacing Ball to give them six attack-minded players on the pitch.
McGinn immediately set up a chance for Adam Rooney but Carson made his first save of the game to parry wide.
Just as Aberdeen seemed to be putting Motherwell under pressure, they were hit with a sucker-punch.
Arnason volleyed Tom Aldred's long ball off Main on the halfway line and the striker had a clear run for goal. The former Middlesbrough man kept his composure to finish high into the net from 20 yards.
McGinn volleyed over but Aberdeen never really threatened a comeback as Motherwell set up a Hampden return against Celtic or Rangers on May 19.
