Aberdeen crashed out of the Betfred Cup in miserable fashion last night following a 3-0 defeat at Motherwell.
Goalkeeper Joe Lewis had a night to forget at Fir Park but he was not alone as Well took advantage of a poor Dons display to secure their place in the semi-final.
Dons manager Derek McInnes made four changes to the side which was held to a 1-1 draw by Kilmarnock at Pittodrie in the Premiership on Saturday.
Mark Reynolds, Gary Mackay-Steven, Dominic Ball and Ryan Christie came into the side with the quartet of Greg Stewart, Nicky Maynard, Kari Arnason and Scott Wright all dropping to the bench.
Aberdeen threatened first through Ryan Christie, whose low shot was parried by Trevor Carson in the Motherwell goal but it was the Steelmen who opened the scoring.
Louis Moult created it, the forward hooking a ball across goal which caught Joe Lewis by surprise and the Aberdeen goalkeeper’s attempt to grab the ball ended with him punching the ball into his own net.
It was a nightmare start and it went from bad to worse for the visitors as Peter Hartley beat Lewis with a header from a Stevie Hammell free kick to double the home side’s advantage in the 19th minute.
The Dons were all at sea and they could have found themselves further behind with Moult going close to scoring his side’s third goal either side of half-time.
Christie saw his shot tipped over the crossbar as the Dons tried to get back into the game but it was Well who almost snatched a third when midfielder Allan Campbell’s half volley hit both posts before landing in Lewis’ arms.
Well were not to be denied, however, and Moult ended the game as a contest four minutes from time when he raced clear of goal before firing past Lewis.