Adam Rooney’s goal was the difference as Aberdeen beat Partick Thistle 1-0 at Pittodrie.
In a game of few chances the Dons did enough to beat the Jags and reduce Celtic’s lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to eight points.
Dons manager Derek McInnes made three changes to the side which lost 3-0 to Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday with Shay Logan back after recovering from illness while Ryan Christie, who was ineligible due to his loan from the Hoops, was also restored to the starting line-up alongside Scott McKenna.
Mark Reynolds, Kari Arnason and Dominic Ball were the players who made way with all three dropping to the bench.
The Dons have enjoyed their last two matches against Partick, scoring 10 goals in two games at Firhill, but they found the going much tougher against Alan Archibald’s injury-ravaged Jags at Pittodrie.
Adam Rooney had the ball in the net for the Dons just before the half hour mark but his effort was disallowed for high feet following a challenge on Partick defender Danny Devine.
Rooney’s effort was the closest the Dons came in a frustrating first half with a low Greg Stewart strike, which was held by Tomas Cerny at the second attempt, the only other effort of note in a disappointing and subdued opening 45 minutes.
Aberdeen found their rhythm at the start of the second half with Christie seeing his lob cleared off the line by Ryan Edwards before the Partick goalkeeper prevented another goal when he cleared the danger before Gary Mackay-Steven could convert Stewart’s low cross.
The visitors’ resistance finally crumbled just after the hour mark when Christie worked his way into the box before cutting the ball back for Rooney to score from close range.