ABERDEEN 3 KELTY HEARTS 0 Premier Sports Cup Group A Saturday July 25 2026 Pittodrie Ref: Ryan Lee Attendance: 7,070

An utterly commanding performance from Aberdeen, playing almost exclusively in the opposition half, saw the Dons progress into the knock-out phase of the Premier Sports Cup with a 100% record in the book. There were six changes for the Dons from the 4-1 win at Queen of the South. There were starts for Dylan Lobban, Jack Milne, Nesta Guinness-Walker, Kjartan Kjartansson, Stuart Armstrong and Toyosi Olusanya, with Dan Happe, Afeez Aremu, Tony Yogane and Conor Ronan on the bench, Alex Briedl and Gavin Molloy missing out. Fifteen-year-old Andrew Fansanya was on the bench. Lewis Mayo skippered the team. With Pittodrie basking in sunshine, it was the perfect start from Aberdeen, Toyosi Olusanya accelerating into the box from off the left flank, only to be hacked down by Corr after just 30 seconds. Penalty to the Dons, and a sixth goal of the season for Kevin Nisbet, who sent Smith the wrong way. A minute later, he was inches away from a second. Armstrong’s low corner into the six yard box saw Nisbet lose his marker and deflect the ball across goal but just a fraction wide of the back post. Another chance came Nisbet’s way on six minutes. Good possession from Aberdeen kept Kelty penned in until Brad Lyons could swing in a cross from 40 yards out. Nisbet’s run got him free, but from 15 yards out, he headed into the RDS. Three minutes later, Smith had to be down sharply at his near post to cut out a cross-shot from Armstrong. Moments later, Armstrong smashed a rising effort just over from 20 yards after a driving run forward. It was all Aberdeen in these opening minutes, but the visitors were hanging grimly on. Persistence from Lewis Smith almost found a second goal after 24 minutes, initially losing the ball but then barrelling through a challenge to create a shooting opportunity. From 16 yards, he curled the ball just over the bar with the goalkeeper beaten. It was 2-0 in the 27th minute with a first Aberdeen goal from Kjartansson. The ball came in from the left, Nisbet nodding it down into the path of Kjartansson eight yards out. Smith came out to meet him as the midfielder stretched to make contact, but though he saved the initial jab at goal, the rebound bounced back onto Kjartansson and in. The third almost arrived three minutes later. Olusanya won a free-kick 22 yards out, just to the left of the D. Nisbet stood up to take, lifted it over the wall, over the goalkeeper, but against the crossbar. The Dons might have had five or six by now instead of just the two goal lead. The Fifers had their first pop at goal in the 34th minute, a nice move down the left ending in Cunningham firing high and wide from 25 yards out. Smith had another look at goal coming towards the break, a fierce shot from a tight angle on the left side of the box being pushed behind by his namesake at the near post. HALF-TIME: ABERDEEN 2 KELTY HEARTS 0 Yogane replaced Smith at the break. Within seconds, he had put in a teasing cross that the goalkeeper did well to tip away. A terrible misunderstanding at the back gave Olusanya the opportunity to make it 3-0 on 50 minutes. Yogane put a cross in from the left which Flatman looked to have covered before he unaccountably decided to leave it at the last moment. That forced Smith to suddenly go full stretch to save, but he could only push it into the path of Olusanya who tucked the ball away from close range. Corr was booked on 55 minutes for desperately holding on to Yogane. Olusanya was almost in again on 57, threaded through by Kjartansson, only for Hannah to poke the ball off his toe as he prepared to shoot. The Dons made their next changes on 59, Nisbet and Kjartansson replaced by Ronan and Ayoub Mouloua. Kelty Hearts responded with a quadruple change four minutes later. On came Higginbotham, Leslie, Walker and Zach Flatman replacing Shanley, Moore, Moffett and Callum Flatman. Armstrong was wayward with his shot on 66 minutes after neat play from Guinness-Walker and Yogane down the left hand side. Hannah was next in the book two minutes later for a late challenge on Olusanya. There was another chance for Armstrong in the 72nd minute, Ronan picking him out with a nice free-kick, but he swept his effort across the face and wide. Aberdeen gave out two debuts at the next break for substitutions, Findlay Marshall and Andrew Fasanya coming on for Olusanya and Lyons in the 75th minute. At 15 years, seven months and 12 days, Fasanya took Dean Campbell’s record as Aberdeen’s youngest ever player. Armstrong wasn’t giving up on his quest for a goal, another curling effort from range pawed behind for a corner by Smith in the 78th minute. Mouloua tried his luck with a first time stab at goal two minutes later, Brydon making a crucial block as the Moroccan looked to finish from Yogane’s cross. A whipped Ronan free-kick from near the by-line almost grabbed the fourth on 81, Smith again doing well to push the ball away from just under the bar. Fasanya wasn’t far away from writing his own fairytale in the 84th minute, another fine cross from Yogane eluding everyone until Fasanya came onto it at the back post, putting his header just over the bar. Kelty Hearts made their last change in the 87th minute, Cunningham replaced by Snoddy. A minute later, Fasanya went darting into the box and looked to be bundled over, but no penalty was forthcoming. Ronan was next into the action, a gap opening up for a 20 yard drive, Smith again doing well to save, the game ended promptly on the 90 minutes.

FULL-TIME: ABERDEEN 2 KELTY HEARTS 0 ABERDEEN: Muller, Lobban, Milne, Mayo, Guinness-Walker, Kjartansson (Ronan 59), Lyons (Marshall 75), Smith (Yogane 46), Armstrong, Olusanya (Fasanya 75), Nisbet (Mouloua 59). Subs not used: Mitov, Devlin, Happe, Aremu. Goals: Nisbet (2 (pen)), Kjartansson (27), Olusanya (50) KELTY HEARTS: Smith, Hannah, Corr, C. Flatman (Z. Flatman 63), Ferguson, Moffett (Leslie 63), McManus, Moore (Walker 63), Cunningham (Snoddy 87), Shanley (Higginbotham 63), Brydon. Subs not used: Miller, Murray, Cole, Fellows. Booked: Corr, Hannah