Substitute Hicham Zerouali grabbed a dramatic injury-time equaliser for
Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
The jet-heeled Moroccan picked up a loose ball 20 yards out and rifled a shot
beyond Motherwell goalkeeper Andy Goram.
It was no more than the Dons deserved as Motherwell defended too deep in the
second half.
John Spencer gave the visitors the lead after 21 minutes and they dominated
the match for long spells.
Aberdeen went into the Scottish Premier League match aiming to bounce back
from the 5-0 defeat by Rangers that left them still rooted to the foot of the
table.
Cato Guntveit and Robbie Winters were restored to the starting line-up,
replacing Mark Perry and Zerouali.
Spencer's strike left the struggling Dons facing an uphill task in the second
half but manager Ebbe Skovdahl will no doubt have been pleased with their
attitude.
Motherwell boss Billy Davies made three changes to the side that drew 1-1
against St Johnstone.
Lee McCulloch, Ged Brannan and Martin Corrigan came in for Michael Doesburg,
Derek Townsley and John Davies.
The visitors had a scare after just three minutes when Corrigan tried to play
the ball back to Goram.
But his effort was woefully short and Goram was forced to scramble the ball
away as Winters threatened.
Aberdeen, however, were soon forced back on the defensive and their fragile
confidence exposed.
Veteran shot-stopper Jim Leighton did superbly well in the 12th minute to
parry a thunderbolt by McCulloch, back in the side after a 12-week absence.
Motherwell made the breakthrough in the 21st minute when Kevin Twaddle got
behind Thomas Solberg down the left.
Twaddle's cross was met perfectly by Spencer, who drove the ball beyond
Leighton after racing into the box.
It was Twaddle's last act in the game as he injured himself when he tumbled
into the advertising boards and was replaced by Pat Nevin.
Despite their plight Aberdeen pulled in another good crowd for a midweek game
of over 10,000 and they almost pulled level 11 minutes before the break.
Arild Stavrum flicked the ball on to Andy Dow and his shot was well struck but
went marginally wide.
Aberdeen were facing a test of character in the last 45 minutes after Skovdahl
accused them of under-achieving against Rangers.
But Motherwell almost added a second three minutes after the break when
McCulloch turned quickly only to fire wide of the target.
Aberdeen rallied and former Scotland keeper Goram made a superb block from
Eoin Jess after Winters had carved out the opening.
Skovdahl decided to shake things up and brought on Zerouali for Winters in the
56th minute.
The skilful Moroccan drove in a fierce cross which had Motherwell all at sea
but Stavrum could not make the vital connection.
Motherwell knew victory would take them into third place and were looking
comfortable as the game entered the final stages.
Aberdeen should have pulled level with seven minutes to go but Stavrum's
finish was wasteful.
He drifted into the box to get on the end of a free-kick from Dow but only
succeeded in heading over the top in a good position.
But Zerouli made amends by grabbing a dramatic equaliser two minutes into
injury time when his snap shot from 20 yards deceived Goram.
Teams:
Aberdeen: Leighton, Anderson, Whyte, Solberg, McAllister, Jess, Bernard (Rutkiewicz 81), Guntveit (Belabed 67), Dow, Winters (Zerouali 56), Stavrum.
Subs Not Used: Preece, Perry.
Booked: McAllister.
Goals: Zerouali 90.
Motherwell: Goram, McMillan, Denham, Kemble, Corrigan, Valakari, Brannan, Goodman, Twaddle (Nevin 25),Spencer (Nicholas 81), McCulloch.
Subs Not Used: Woods, Townsley, Davies.
Booked: Kemble.
Goals: Spencer 22.
Att: 10,314
Ref: Kenny Clark (Scotland).
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