Aberdeen Triumphs Over Dundee in Premier Sports Cup Quarter-Finals
Kevin Nisbet dragged Aberdeen out of their post‑league slump and into the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals, with debutant Mitchy Ntelo announcing himself in style on a cathartic night against Dundee.
Four days after a flat 2-0 Premiership defeat to the same opponents, the Dons came back snarling. This time they were sharper in the box, nastier in the press and ruthless when the chances finally fell their way.
Nisbet leads, Ntelo arrives
Aberdeen had already knocked on the door before their captain forced it open.
Chris Cadden’s drive was beaten out, Toyosi Olusanya’s follow-up was blocked, and the ball broke invitingly for Nisbet a few yards out. He didn’t hesitate. One touch, low and firm, and Aberdeen had the platform they craved.
Dundee, still settling after a worrying early blow, never quite recovered their shape.
The real jolt, though, came just after the interval. Ntelo, making his first appearance, produced the kind of moment that turns a debut into a marker. Back to goal, a sharp swivel, and a superb strike on the turn that ripped past Owen Goodman. Clinical. Confident. Exactly what Aberdeen have been missing in tight games.
The pressure finally told again when Tony Yogane fizzed a low cross into the area. Ntelo’s clever dummy wrong-footed the Dundee back line, and Nisbet arrived to sweep home his second of the night. By then, the tie was done. This was no repeat of the limp league showing; this was a response.
Murray injury sours Dundee’s night
For Dundee, the defeat was only part of the damage.
Captain Simon Murray’s night ended in distressing fashion in the first half. Chasing a ball in behind, he landed awkwardly and immediately clutched his left knee. The 34-year-old needed a stretcher, leaving the pitch to anxious silence from both sets of supporters. It looked serious, and it drained what early threat Dundee had carried.
Before the injury, Murray had found himself clean through but failed to get the ball under control, allowing Marius Muller to gather. That moment summed up Dundee’s evening in front of goal: half-chances, heavy touches, and a goalkeeper who refused to be beaten when they did find their range.
Muller later stood up well to block from Joe Bevan, while at the other end Goodman was far busier. Afeez Aremu twice forced the Dundee keeper into action from distance, and Olusanya saw another one-on-one saved after bursting clear in the first half.
Dons turn the screw
Once Aberdeen emerged from the break, they barely looked back.
The tempo went up, the passes snapped into feet, and Dundee were forced deeper and deeper. Ntelo’s strike and Nisbet’s second were the headline moments, but the control in midfield and the relentlessness out wide underpinned the scoreline.
Substitute Stuart Armstrong almost added further gloss, rattling a shot off the post late on with Goodman beaten. It would have been a fitting flourish to a second half Aberdeen largely dominated.
Dundee did rally briefly in search of consolation. Ryan Finnigan drew a smart stop from Muller, and Ethan Hamilton lifted a decent opening over the bar. The chances came too late, and without Murray, the edge in the box was missing.
Aberdeen, bruised by that listless league defeat, walked off with something far more valuable than revenge: a place in the last eight and a performance that suggested their season might have more bite than their early stumbles implied.
