Aberdeen Advances to Cup Quarter-Finals with Nisbet and Ntelo's Impact
Kevin Nisbet dragged Aberdeen out of their Dundee slump and straight into the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals – with a little help from a debutant who looks in no mood to ease himself in gently.
Three days after a flat 2-0 Premiership defeat to the same opponents, the Dons ripped up the script. Nisbet struck twice, Mitchy Ntelo announced himself with a ruthless finish, and Aberdeen turned a nagging question about their character into a loud, defiant answer.
Nisbet leads from the front
The tone changed the moment Aberdeen began pinning Dundee back. Afeez Aremu had already stung the palms of Owen Goodman twice and Toyosi Olusanya had been denied when clean through, but the breakthrough came from the captain.
Chris Cadden and Olusanya both saw efforts blocked in a frantic sequence inside the box. The ball broke kindly and Nisbet, alive to the chaos, pounced from close range. One touch, one swing, and Aberdeen had the lead their aggression deserved.
Dundee tried to respond. Simon Murray, always on the shoulder, got his chance when he burst clear, only for a heavy touch to let Marius Muller smother the danger. It would be Murray’s last real involvement.
Murray’s injury sours Dundee night
The match had barely settled when Dundee’s evening took a grim turn. Murray landed awkwardly after challenging for a ball and immediately clutched his left knee. At 34, the sight of the captain leaving on a stretcher, visibly in distress, drained the noise from the away end.
Joe Bevan later forced Muller into a solid save, but Dundee’s attacking edge never fully recovered from the loss of their focal point.
Ntelo announces himself, Dons cut loose
If the first half hinted at a reaction from Aberdeen, the second half delivered it in full.
They came out after the interval sharper, quicker, more direct. Ntelo, on his debut, embodied that change. When the ball dropped to him with his back to goal, he spun in one smooth movement and lashed a superb shot beyond Goodman. No hesitation, no fuss – just a striker’s finish that spoke of confidence, not nerves.
The pressure finally told again as Dundee’s back line began to unravel. Tony Yogane drove low across the box, Ntelo cleverly stepped over the cross, and Nisbet arrived on cue to sweep in his second. A smart dummy, a clinical finish, and the tie was effectively done.
Aberdeen were enjoying themselves now. Substitute Stuart Armstrong almost added gloss, rattling the post late on with Goodman beaten.
Dundee chase consolation, Dons look ahead
Dundee did not fold completely. Ryan Finnigan forced Muller into action and Ethan Hamilton lifted a decent opening over the bar as the Dark Blues searched for something to take home beyond bruised pride and concern over their captain.
They found nothing.
Aberdeen, in contrast, found exactly what they needed: goals, control, and a response after a listless league defeat. The quarter-finals now await – and with Nisbet firing and Ntelo already making noise, the question is no longer about their reaction.
It’s about how far this version of the Dons can go.
