Scott Morrison scored his first senior goal to help Aberdeen banish the poor midweek display at Motherwell with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Hibernian.

The 19-year-old defender fired past Daniel Andersson from 20-yards in the fifth minute at Easter Road as the Dons returned to winning ways.

Hibs rallied after going behind and dominated as the first-half wore on, but, despite having the Dons on the rack at times, they could not turn possession into goals.

Aberdeen started well and managed to gain the advantage in the fifth minute as Morrison stunned Easter Road with a brilliantly executed strike.

Hibs failed to heed an early warning when, after only 120 seconds, Steve Tosh almost fired past Daniel Andersson from the edge of the box.

The tall goalkeeper managed to get a hand to the ball on this occasion, but had no chance three minutes later when a well-worked free-kick gave the visitors the lead.

Tosh deftly knocked the ball into the path of his young team-mate 20 yards out, giving him the chance to look up and send a shot into the right-hand corner of the net.

Hibs offered little in the opening half-hour and appeared a pale shadow of the side which had knocked Celtic and Rangers out of the CIS Insurance Cup en route to the final.

But the Dons were almost breached in the 16th minute, however, when a long free-kick from the left found Colin Murdock at the back post.

However, the former Preston man could not cushion the ball into the path of the lurking Garry O'Connor and the opportunity slipped past.

Murdock's presence inside the penalty area was influential again in the 28th minute when he flicked on Kevin Thomson's dead ball from the right flank.

His header spun to the back post and Gary Caldwell, but the centre-half could not find enough inches as the ball flew past his head.

Hibs monopolised the ball as the opening 45 minutes drew to a close, but the visitors managed to cling on to their lead until the referee called a halt to Hibs' onslaught.

The break stifled Hibs' momentum, allowing Aberdeen time to re-group and get back on a more even footing.

The visitors almost doubled their lead in the 54th minute through Scott Booth, but Andersson brilliantly changed direction mid-save to beat the ball away from the bottom corner after the ex-Scotland man's initial shot deflected off Edge.

Aberdeen regained possession and piled on more pressure, but found the Easter Road number one in fine form as he smothered a further two efforts from Tosh and Leigh Hinds.

Hibs' increasing desperation was shown in the 66th minute when they furiously pleaded for a penalty after Alexander Diamond intercepted a cross from the right.

The youngster clearly used his chest to gain control of the ball, but both home players and fans desperately tried to sway the referee into giving them the decision.

Dons' boss Paterson tried to inject some width into the game ahead of the final exchanges by withdrawing Hinds and bringing on winger Scott Muirhead.

The final minute saw a brawl erupt between the two sets of players following a clash between Caldwell and Tosh.

But, after much consideration, the referee decided to call time on proceedings rather than issue any cards.

Teams

Hibernian Andersson, Smith, Doumbe, Murdock, Edge, McManus (Dobbie 73), Scott Brown, Caldwell, Thomson, O'Connor, Riordan.

Subs Not Used: Alistair Brown, Whittaker, Reid, Orman.

Booked: Murdock, Caldwell.

Aberdeen Preece, Anderson, McGuire, Morrison, Diamond, Tosh, Foster (Prunty 79), Heikkinen, Clark, Booth (Zdrilic 85), Hinds (Muirhead 72).

Subs Not Used: Esson, Sheerin.

Goals: Morrison 5.

Att: 10,416

Ref: I Brines (Scotland).