Louis Moult double earns Motherwell deserved victory at a freezing Pittodrie

Louis Moult was on target twice for Motherwell at Pittodrie on Saturday (Pic by Ian McFadyen)

Moult's 49th and 50th goals for the Steelmen - one in either half - gave 'Well a deserved success against a flat looking Aberdeen outfit.

A lively start to the match saw Motherwell force an early corner after Charles Dunne's promising run and cross on the left.

Adam Rooney - so often a thorn in Motherwell's side in the past - then volleyed wide for the Dons after fine set up play by Ryan Christie.

Christie then shot straight at Motherwell keeper Trevor Carson before play raged to the other end where Liam Grimshaw - making the first start of his second spell with Motherwell - had a volley saved after a Ryan Bowman knockdown.

The frantic early action continued with Rooney's powerful volley being parried by Carson.

Motherwell's Andy Rose then took centre stage for the next few minutes, firstly having an excellent right footed volley superbly saved low in the corner by Aberdeen custodian Joe Lewis.

Rose then had two headers off target, sandwiched in between Aberdeen's Kenny McLean volleying off target from a tight angle at the other end.

There then followed a very scrappy phase of play as both teams struggled to ping the ball around accurately, partly due to a strong wind in the Granite City.

But the Steelmen broke the deadlock on 42 minutes when top scorer Moult - who had been linking the play well throughout - sent a looping header over Lewis and into the net after Richard Tait's long 40-yard free-kick from the right wing.

It was a deserved lead for the visitors who were the better team in the opening half.

Bon Jovi hit 'Keep the Faith' blared out over the Pittodrie tannoy as the host DJ urged home fans to stick with the Dons, whose gaffer Derek McInnes made a half-time substitution by bringing on ex-St Johnstone forward Stevie May for the ineffective Greg Tansey.

But it was the away team who were celebrating again on 55 minutes when Moult bulleted the ball home with his right foot after a brilliant run and cross by Chris Cadden on the right flank.

A long ball sent May clear on 67 minutes but his cross drifted beyond Carson's far post.

Although Aberdeen bossed possession in the closing stages, they rarely looked like troubling Carson and Motherwell bounced back superbly from their defeats against Hibs and Ross County to boost their push for a European place.

Next up is the not so small matter of a Betfred Cup final against Celtic next Sunday and in this mood the Steelmen will go into the game with confidence.

Motherwell: Carson, Tait, Grimshaw (Campbell 71), Hartley, McHugh, Moult (Fisher 89), Cadden, Bowman (Frear 55), Rose, Dunne. Kipre.

Referee: Bobby Madden

Crowd: 14,013