Previous Aberdeen and Motherwell ties have produced one of the greatest ever games seen at Pittodrie, the fast goal in Scottish Cup history and plenty more twists and turns over the past 100 years.

With six wins each the clubs have been drawn together in the Scottish Cup in twelve previous seasons. In total there have been sixteen meetings, five at Pittodrie, eight at Fir Park and three at neutral venues, two at Ibrox and one at Hampden. The Dons go into Saturday’s clash looking for a first ever Scottish Cup win over Motherwell at home in what the sixth time will be the sides have met in the Scottish Cup at Pittodrie.

All six of Aberdeen’s wins have been at Fir Park, while Motherwell have been victors at Pittodrie twice with three draws. The Dons lost two of the three semi-final clashes with one draw. Mainly due to the 1953 replay victory, Aberdeen have outscored the Steelmen 25 to 23 over the sixteen meetings.

Pre War Years

The first occasion the Dons met Motherwell in the Scottish Cup was back in 1925 when Aberdeen prevailed 2-1 at Fir Park after a 0-0 draw at Pittodrie. Aberdeen at that time had four Jacksons in their side, including the renowned Alec who went on to earn fame as a Wembley Wizard for Scotland in 1928. The first tie at Pittodrie was evenly matched with no side ever getting the edge. George Johnstone made some fine saves for Aberdeen while full backs Bruce and Matt Forsyth were the best on shoe for the home side. The official attendance of 24,257 did not include season ticket holders and complimentary access which would have brought the attendance over 26,000.

In that first game, the Dons were unlucky not to go through after Alec Jackson and Tom Pirie missed several good opportunities. It was Jimmy Jackson though who scored to put Aberdeen through to the quarter-final after the Pittodrie stalemate. Aberdeen took the lead in nine minutes. Smith gathered the ball after Greenshields had failed to head clear. From a deep cross Craig attempted to clear but the ball came off the defender to give Aberdeen the lead. Jackson scored his goal in 28 minutes. After following up on another Aberdeen attack, Jackson shot from 25 yards which beat McClory. The 12,000-attendance brought in £456 gate receipts.

The Reds

The Club’s would meet again in 1939 with War again in Europe looming on the horizon. Aberdeen were unhappy that Ibrox was chosen as a neutral venue but a crowd in excess of 80,000 turned out to see Aberdeen being held in a 1-1 draw. Dave Warnock scored the Dons’ goal. Aberdeen wore red shirts that day on the instruction of the SFA. The replay four days later attracted half of the crowd of the first tie and it was a bitter disappointment for manager Dave Halliday as his side were wasteful in front of goal and went down 3-1.

One of the most intriguing anomalies in Aberdeen FC history has been the reason why the club changed from their famed black and gold striped shirts to all red. It is generally believed that the first occasion the Dons played in red was in their Scottish Cup semi-final clash against Motherwell at Ibrox on 25 March 1939, but actually, the Dons wore red for the first ever time against Queen’s Park at Pittodrie the week before their semi-final clash. What is not so well known is why the Dons changed to red. It was not a decision taken by the club but one ‘forced’ upon them.

Ahead of the semi-final Ibrox clash, the Dons traditional black and gold strip clashed with the claret and amber of Motherwell. One side would need to change colours. At that time, both had white change kits and both wanted to play in white. With no agreement from the clubs it was down to the SFA to step in, by way of a toss of a coin. John Hunter, the Fir Park manager, and William Mitchell, the Dons chairman, who were present to toss the coin after the Aberdeen game against Hamilton at Douglas Park. Motherwell won the toss, so they would be able to play in white. It was on the instruction of the SFA that Aberdeen had to play in red shirts. It was a surprise and unprecedented decision, as Aberdeen had never played in red at any stage in their 35-year history.

Even prior to the Dons’ formation in 1903, none of the three sides that amalgamated, Aberdeen, Orion and Victoria United, ever played in red. The general belief was that it would present a disadvantage for the Aberdeen players as their new colours would be unfamiliar.

Despite Aberdeen failing to go on and reach the cup final, the general belief was that the red shirts should stay. The red colours were ‘inspiring’ and very popular amongst the Aberdeen support, with the black and gold being described as ‘drab.’ The decision to turn to red shirts on a permanent basis was taken that summer. When Aberdeen returned to action in August 1939, the traditional trial game between the first team and the reserves saw the senior side listed as ‘Reds.’ A long-standing club tradition was born.

The 1950s

Motherwell had won the Scottish Cup in 1953 for the first ever time after defeating Dundee 4-0 in the final.

The season after Aberdeen extracted revenge for the 1939 defeat and they did so in some style though for the third time in succession, the tie went to a second game after one of the greatest ever matches played at Pittodrie.

On the eve of the cup-tie, Dave Shaw was appointed as player/trainer before Motherwell arrived at Pittodrie as cup holders in February ‘53. Although Motherwell opened the scoring Aberdeen gained control and raced into a 3-1 lead. An incredible tie in front of the 27,353 crowd saw the teams exchange penalties as the Dons went into a 5-3 lead with 14 minutes left. Motherwell rallied and two late goals – Shaw fired past Martin from 30 yards and Cox equalised with only seconds left – so the tie went to a replay after a 5-5 draw.

Aberdeen were harshly criticised in the local press following that incredible tie; ‘It is hard to forgive Aberdeen their failure to make the grade. At different stages of the game they were leading 3-1. 4-2 and 5-3 with six minutes left. Fred Martin the Aberdeen keeper had an unfortunate match. Particularly unfortunate was the loss of the fourth goal when a shot from left back Shaw beat him from the 30 yards range. But Martin wasn’t the only Don to blot his copybook. Ian Rodger must recall with regret that golden chance he wasted in the closing stages with Aberdeen 5-3 ahead. Paddy Buckley was the most active and dangerous forward and popped home a couple of magnificent goals. The Dons have themselves to blame for the fact that they must travel to Lanarkshire in mid-week.’

Four days later, Aberdeen showed their best form when they raced into an incredible 4-1 lead by half-time. This time, the defence stood firm and the Dons went on to rout the holders 6-1. Harry Yorston scored a hat-trick as the entire Hibernian squad watched from the Fir Park stands. The Easter Road side were the Dons’ next opponents. The Dons went on and beat Hibs 2-0, they put out Third Lanark after a semi-final replay but would lose 1-0 to Rangers in a final replay. As a footnote, the Dons would defeat Rangers 6-0 in 1954 semi-final but lost 2-1 to Celtic in the final.

In 1958, Aberdeen went down at Fir Park in a quarter-final tie. Motherwell were struggling to stay in the top league but were tough cup opponents; Aberdeen levelled through Norman Davidson in the second half but when Motherwell lost McFadyen through injury, the Dons could not capitalise. Ian St John, who would go on and star for Liverpool in the 1960s, stunned Aberdeen by scoring an unlikely winner. On reflection the home side were worthy winners as at no stage did the Aberdeen players match the guile and strength of the Fir Park side. Even when Motherwell went down to ten men, the Dons failed to take advantage to keep their Scottish Cup involvement going. On this occasion it was the Aberdeen forwards that came in for criticism in the local press; ‘It was up front that Aberdeen flopped most. Leggat was here, there and everywhere in search of goals. Hather flashed into the game on occasion. Wishart did a lot of clever things, but there was no method at all about this line. Davidson was completely out of it and Ewen was obviously not fit for this cut and thrust cup stuff.’

The following season the Dons again got to the final, but this time lost to St Mirren in one of their most disappointing Hampden days. The 1950s had seen Aberdeen win a first ever Division One title and League Cup, but the Scottish Cup trophy eluded one of our greatest ever squads.

The Modern Era

Aberdeen under Eddie Turnbull did finally win the Scottish Cup in 1970, defeating Celtic 3-1. Arguably our greatest Scottish Cup win. By 1974-75, in the final season before the Premier Division came into being, hopes were high that Aberdeen could go all the way to Hampden again after knocking out Dundee United and Rangers in impressive wins away from home. A quarter-final tie against Motherwell at Pittodrie had Aberdeen as favourites but just before half time referee Foote awarded Motherwell an indirect free kick just outside the Aberdeen box. The ball was played to Bobby Graham and he blasted the ball home to send Jimmy Bonthrone’s side tumbling out of the cup.

Further Scottish Cup disappointment would follow under Ally MacLeod (although he did of course win the League Cup) and Billy McNeill (who lost the 1978 final) but all that would change, eventually, under Alex Ferguson.

The big freeze of 1982 saw Aberdeen come out of cold storage and face Motherwell at Fir Park who were leading the First Division, 18 games unbeaten, with Aberdeen riding high in the Premier League. Alex Ferguson had just turned down the chance to manage Wolves. The game will always be remembered for a Scottish Cup record that still stands; John Hewitt’s 9.6 second strike remains the competition’s quickest ever goal. Maybe is what not remember so much is that for the rest of the 89 minutes the Dons had a lot of defending to do, although the pressure was released when Brian McLaughlin was sent off in the second half. The win would set the Dons on their way to creating history by winning the Scottish Cup in 1982 and qualifying for the European Cup Winners Cup.

Having won the cup four times during the 1980s, In 1991, Aberdeen were once again cup holders and favourites but went down to a shock 1-0 defeat, Steve Kick scoring with ten minutes to go. Motherwell went on to win the Scottish Cup that season, for the second time in their history. Aberdeen so nearly went on to win the league. In 1996, the Dons won at Fir Park in a comfortable 2-0 win which was shown on Sky TV. Goals in each half from Dean Windass and Duncan Shearer put Aberdeen through to the fourth round.

Rory Fallon

In March 2012 Aberdeen survived a late rally from 10-man Motherwell to move into the Scottish Cup semi-finals thanks to a superb Rory Fallon double. The Aberdeen players emerged to a wall of colour with there being over 2,000 Aberdeen fans in the ground. The game kicked off in a tremendous atmosphere and that was maybe the reason for the explosive start. There was a chance in the first minute when the ball came into the Dons box from the right and Nicky Law was able to get a shot away. Thankfully Considine’s block deflected behind for a corner. It was the first of many from the captain who put in a superb performance. Fallon then headed powerfully home from close range after only five minutes following a hotly disputed corner. Michael Higdon had a penalty saved by the Dons’ Jason Brown before Fallon brilliantly volleyed home just before the break. Keith Lasley suffered a 69th-minute red card, but Nick Law’s close-range reply ensured a thrilling finish. Clancy then had an effort pushed away by keeper Brown. In the final few minutes his opposite number came up for a corner. Aberdeen won the ball and cleverly worked it to Pawlett. The midfielder tried to roll the ball in from about 40 yards but it just went inches wide, to the agony of everyone behind the Motherwell goal. Thankfully though the miss did not matter as the final whistle went shortly afterwards and the Aberdeen fans were able to celebrate the win.

The side then met again within the calendar year. In December 2012, as the Scottish Cup business started before Christmas, a last-minute goal saved Craig Brown’s side in a 1-1 draw.  It meant that Aberdeen and Motherwell would have to meet again after the last gasp Niall McGinn goal rescued the Dons’ hopes. Jamie Murphy’s strike on 79 minutes looked like it would send the visitors through, but McGinn scored his ninth of the campaign to level the game. Defeat would have been harsh on either side in what was a largely un-eventful game on a difficult pitch.

In the replay on a freezing cold night Aberdeen produced a magnificent second half performance to book their place in the fifth round of the Cup. That man Rory Fallon opened the scoring when he lashed the ball into the net following great work from McGinn. Hayes then set up Shaughnessy for the second and in between Randolph made several great saves to keep Motherwell in the match. The Dons were comfortable until the home side were awarded a penalty in the first minute of injury time. Langfield was close to stopping Higden’s effort, but the ball ended up in the net for a consolation. The keeper deserved to stop it on his 250th Dons appearance, but he will have been happy to see the Dons progress in a fair amount of style.

Dons Dumped

The semi-final clash at Hampden in 2018 was the only the second time the sides have met in the last four of the competition and proved to be a bitter disappointment for Aberdeen as they were dumped out of the Scottish Cup in what was a day to forget for the 12,000-travelling support. Aberdeen were denied on a couple of occasions after some decisions went against them, but the Dons struggled to come to terms with the occasion, not helped by the fact they were missing some key players through suspension and injury, including captain Graeme Shinnie. Motherwell ended up as deserved 3-0 winners with Curtis Main being the main man, scoring twice.

Aberdeen were once again undone by Motherwell in 2022. Having started like a train, the Dons were derailed by a fierce Motherwell fightback late in the first half. The teams were greeted by teeming rain and a howling wind, proper cup tie weather. In the opening minutes Vicente Besuijen collected the ball down the right and fed Ross McCrorie on the overlap. His first time cross picked out Christian Ramirez, all alone at the back post and he hammered a header into the roof of the net. The American striker was inches away from a second on seven minutes, getting the better of Ojala as he ran after David Bates’ long ball forward, before stretching to lob the ball over Kelly. It looked in all the way before drifting agonisingly wide on the wind. The miss proved to be costly as Kevin van Veen levelled with a deflected shot and Connor Shields netted the winner before half-time. Aberdeen’s Scottish Cup exit proved to be the final game in charge for Stephen Glass as Motherwell reached the quarter-finals.

So what will the story be in 2026?