Highlights: Aberdeen 1-0 Motherwell
Aberdeen defeated 10-man Motherwell at Pittodrie to leapfrog their opponents into eighth place in the Scottish Premiership and move closer to safety.
The game swung on Motherwell striker Jack Vale's high challenge on Jack Mackenzie early in the second half, which resulted in a red card.
Aberdeen took advantage within five minutes when Stefan Gartenmann headed in off a post from a corner.
The home side should have made their lead more comfortable as they took control, with Nicky Devlin heading over, Bojan Miovski tamely shooting at Liam Kelly, Duk failing to find the net when clean through, and Esther Sokler missing two glaring chances in stoppage time.
In the end, a single goal was enough for Aberdeen to move eight points clear of Ross County in the relegation play-off spot, and one above Motherwell.
Stuart Kettlewell's side are unlikely to be dragged into the scrap to avoid second-bottom place, but suffered their first defeat in four matches.
Player of the match - Junior Hoilett (Aberdeen)
Hoilett was brilliant again for Aberdeen. He created seven chances for his team, including the decisive corner for Gartenmann to head in.
Red card turns turgid game - analysis
The first 55 minutes of this game passed almost without incident, before Vale's boot connected with Mackenzie's midriff as the pair challenged for the ball in the air.
After that sending off, Aberdeen took firm control and got their reward swiftly through Gartenmann's guided headed to bolster their confidence.
Hoilett in particular, after his two wonderful assists against Celtic last week, was terrific to watch. Not only did he lay on seven chances for his team-mates, but he hassled Motherwell out of possession as well.
Aberdeen's interim manager Peter Leven has brought calm amid a chaotic season, managing to plug a leaky defence as the home side registered a third clean sheet in a row in the league while extending their unbeaten run to five.
They were wasteful in the last half hour but ultimately got the job done, and with it another season in the Premiership is probably assured.
Motherwell will try to move on quickly from this. They were right in the game without being particularly good until Vale's ill-advised tackle.
They are seven points clear of the relegation play-off, which should be enough to stay up. In that sense it is job done.
Though there will be some concern from Kettlewell that key players like Blair Spittal appear to have gone off the boil in recent games.
What they said
Leven 'delighted' with Aberdeen win
'We don't come here to fight with officials' - Kettlewell
What's next?
Aberdeen host St Johnstone next Saturday (15:00 BST) while Motherwell are also at home, as they face bottom side Livingston at the same time.
