Aberdeen's Kevin Nisbet and Mitchy Ntelo Shine in Cup Victory

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 came back snarling. Same fixture, very different mood.

Nisbet leads, Ntelo announces himself

Aberdeen’s captain set the tone. His first goal came from a scramble that summed up the shift in attitude. Chris Cadden’s effort was blocked, Toyosi Olusanya’s follow-up was repelled again, but Nisbet stayed alive in the box and forced the ball home from close range.

Aberdeen had their foothold. Dundee never really recovered.

Ntelo, on his debut, then produced the game’s moment of real class early in the second half. With his back to goal, he took the ball, rolled his man and whipped a superb shot on the turn beyond Owen Goodman. One touch to set, one to finish, and Aberdeen were in complete control.

The third goal killed any doubt. Tony Yogane drove a low cross into the area, Ntelo cleverly dummied, and Nisbet arrived to guide in his second of the night. A captain’s brace, a new signing shining, and the tie as good as done.

Dundee’s night darkens with Murray blow

For Dundee, defeat was only part of the damage.

Their captain Simon Murray left the pitch on a stretcher in the first half after landing awkwardly and immediately clutching his left knee. At 34, and in such visible distress, it looked a grim moment for both player and club.

Before that, the game had been more even than the final scoreline suggests. Afeez Aremu twice forced Goodman into action, while Olusanya’s pace repeatedly unsettled the Dundee back line. The forward went clean through in the first half, only for Goodman to stand tall and deny him.

Dundee had their openings too. Murray found himself in on goal but never quite tamed the ball, allowing Marius Muller to gather. The Aberdeen keeper later blocked well from Joe Bevan as the hosts tried to build some pressure of their own.

Dons turn the screw after the break

Once the second half started, Aberdeen stopped giving Dundee hope.

They came out sharp, aggressive, and on the front foot. Ntelo’s strike and Nisbet’s second felt like the natural result of that shift, and from there Barry Robson’s side controlled the tempo with a calmness missing in the league defeat.

Substitute Stuart Armstrong almost added extra gloss late on, rattling a shot against the post as Aberdeen continued to pour forward rather than protect what they had.

Dundee chased a consolation but found only frustration. Ryan Finnigan forced Muller into a save, and Ethan Hamilton lifted a decent chance over the bar, but the spark was gone and the tie had long since slipped away.

Aberdeen, bruised in the Premiership but ruthless in the cup, now move into the last eight with momentum rebuilt and a captain back in full voice. The question is whether this version of the Dons turns up when the league battle resumes.