Motherwell 0-1 Aberdeen

Aberdeen stifled Motherwell as they exacted revenge for their League Cup defeat three days ago thanks to Andrew Considine's scrambled winner.

But it took 52 minutes before either goalkeeper had a save of note to make this time, Aberdeen's Joe Lewis pushing away a Chris Cadden drive.

Five minutes later, Considine pounced after a cute Ryan Christie back-heel came back off the post.

Aberdeen survived late pressure to secure a fifth league win in succession over Well and move back up to second in the Scottish Premiership ahead of St Johnstone and two points behind reigning champions Celtic.

This time, Derek McInnes' side managed to subdue the threat of Louis Moult, the striker he tried to sign this summer and who scored a double in Thursday's League Cup tie, to ensure they remain unbeaten in the league this season.

Well had gone into the game with the chance to leapfrog Hibernian and Rangers but remain sixth after their five-game unbeaten run came to an end.

The turnaround in fortunes was remarkable, for which the Aberdeen manager - acknowledging his side's failings on Thursday and changing his team accordingly - must take huge credit.

Aberdeen set up to avoid being beaten, with McInnes demanding a more competitive and aggressive performance than the meek display here in the League Cup.

Whether as a result of that change in approach from Aberdeen or otherwise, Motherwell were unable to impose their authority on the match in the manner they had done just three nights ago.

The visitors' more defensive set-up made for a less than captivating opening period, with neither side able to forge many clear-cut opportunities.

Other than a Considine header that was punched away by Trevor Carson, the Well goalkeeper had little to do, while Lewis was made to work only by Kenny McLean, who almost diverted a Gael Bigirimana corner into his own net.

Motherwell ended the first half on top and Lewis pushed away a Cadden effort as they kept up the pressure immediately after the interval.

Then came the sucker punch from the Dons, immediately after McInnes made an attacking change by replacing Greg Tansey with Greg Stewart.

Stewart was quickly involved, creating problems for the Motherwell defence and, although Ryan Christie's flick came off the post, Considine made his presence felt to tap the ball over the line.

Again, the home side piled forward, as Aberdeen looked to soak up the waves of Motherwell attacks.

However, they did so to good effect, preventing any further stern tests for Lewis, with Scott McKenna, the 20-year-old making his first Dons appearance for more than a year, excelling at the heart of the defence alongside Kari Arnason.

Indeed, Stewart could have sealed the victory late on for Aberdeen, but Carson saved superbly from the substitute.

That made for a nervy final phase for the visitors, but the closest Motherwell came to salvaging a point was a Moult free kick in injury time that deflected just over Lewis' crossbar.