Aberdeen's Cup Triumph: Nisbet and Ntelo Shine
Kevin Nisbet dragged Aberdeen out of their Dundee hangover and into the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals – with debutant Mitchy Ntelo crashing through the door beside him.
Four days after a flat 2-0 league defeat to the same opponents, the Dons returned to Dens Park with a point to prove and left with a statement win, their captain leading from the front and their new boy announcing himself in style.
Nisbet leads the response
Aberdeen’s intent was obvious early. Afeez Aremu twice forced Owen Goodman into action, while Toyosi Olusanya’s pace repeatedly unsettled the Dundee back line. When the breakthrough came, it owed everything to that sustained pressure.
Chris Cadden’s effort was blocked, Olusanya’s follow-up was beaten out, but Dundee’s resistance finally cracked as Nisbet pounced from close range to ram the ball home. A scrappy goal, perhaps, but exactly the kind of finish Aberdeen had lacked in the league defeat.
Dundee tried to respond. Simon Murray wriggled clear and found himself bearing down on Marius Muller, only to lose his touch at the crucial moment as the Aberdeen keeper gathered. Later, Muller stood tall again to block from Joe Bevan, a reminder that this was no one-sided procession.
Then came the moment that changed the mood around Dens entirely.
Murray injury sours Dundee night
Murray, Dundee’s captain and attacking focal point, landed awkwardly after challenging for a ball and immediately clutched his left knee. The 34-year-old’s distress was obvious. Stretchered off to worried applause from all sides, he left behind a team suddenly short on belief as well as firepower.
Dundee never truly recovered their edge. Aberdeen sensed it.
Ntelo announces himself
If Nisbet’s opener was all about persistence, Ntelo’s first Aberdeen goal was pure quality.
Early in the second half, the debutant took a pass with his back to goal, rolled his marker and unleashed a superb strike on the turn that flashed beyond Goodman. One touch to set, one to finish, and Aberdeen were in full control.
From there, the visitors played with a freedom that had been missing at the weekend. Ntelo remained at the heart of it. When Tony Yogane drilled a low cross into the box, Ntelo stepped over it, selling the Dundee defence, and Nisbet arrived right on cue to sweep in his second of the night.
Three goals, tie done, and a very different narrative to the one written in the Premiership meeting.
Aberdeen might have added further gloss. Substitute Stuart Armstrong rattled the post late on, his curling effort beating Goodman but not the woodwork, as Dundee’s defence creaked again.
Dundee left chasing consolation
The Dark Blues did at least keep pushing for something to show for the night. Ryan Finnigan stung Muller’s palms, and Ethan Hamilton lifted a decent chance over the bar as they searched for a late consolation that never came.
By then, though, the contest belonged to Aberdeen – and to their captain and their new forward.
From listless in the league to ruthless in the cup in the space of one trip back to Dens, the Dons are into the last eight. The question now is whether this is just a cup surge, or the spark that jolts their entire season into life.
