Arbroath 0 - 2 Aberdeen

After a ten minute delay to let the crowd in the match kicked off in a strong wind and the home side had the advantage of these conditions in the first half. Arbroath were pumped up for the match and the opening exchanges saw them concede a series of fouls including a brutal assault on Kevin McNaughton by Alan Brazil. Arbroath carved out the first corner of the match in the fifth minute and Esson punched the ball clear but a second corner seconds later saw Millar fire over. Esson was in action again in the 9th minute making a save from Swankie.

John Stewart had a chance to extend the Dons lead in the 19th minute with a low drive from 16 yards but keeper Inglis was down smartly to block the effort with his legs. Mackie then went on a strong run but opted to pass when he had created a good shooting chance for himself. Conditions were proving to be difficult as the snow started to fall to add to the problems already created by the wind making it difficult for either side to play decent football.

Aberdeen had another chance to extend their lead after the break when Mackie did well to pull down a McGuire pass. Having done the difficult part the striker then hit the ball tamely at Inglis with 49 minutes on the clock. The Dons were missing chance upon chance despite dominating proceedings and Chris Clark was the next to miss when his shot was blocked in the 56th minute then Steve Tosh was denied on the hour mark. Arbroath were making more of a game of it in this half and Calderwood must have been concerned about the missed chances with such a slender lead.

Aberdeen finally grabbed a second in the 67th minute when John Stewart steered a long ball into the path of Darren Mackie and the striker stroked the ball into the net to make it 2-0. A minute later Noel Whelan made a return to first team action when he replaced John Stewart in attack. The Englishman had his first chance five minutes after entering the fray but once again Inglis was good enough to make the stop. Then in the 77th minute Steve Tosh fired over and two minutes later Scott Morrison replaced him. There were no further goals but the Dons will be happy to be in Monday's draw.