Motherwell stormed into the last eight of the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup with an 8-1 victory over Aberdeen at Garthdee Sports Centre.
Sammy Hare grabbed a hat-trick and Suzanne Mulvey a brace, while there were also goals for Caitlin Russell, Megan Burns and an own goal from Dons midfielder Susan Murray.
It was the hosts who began the brighter of the two sides, with Motherwell struggling to deal with the extremely poor conditions. Claire Johnstone twice had to make excellent stops to keep the scores level.
Mulvey and Russell tried their luck from distance as ‘Well looked to take control of the game and the opening goal arrived after 25 minutes. A loose ball fell at the feet of Mulvey, who drilled a low shot into the net.
Five minutes later it was 2-0, Russell driving down the right and teeing up Hare who made no mistake from close range.
Motherwell were looking dangerous every time they attacked and they added two further goals before the interval. The first came after Kirsty Mclaughlin’s free kick was turned into her own net by Murray. Two minutes later, Russell’s brilliant run finished with a fizzing shot into the bottom corner.
It only took 40 seconds of the second half for the women of steel to pick up where they left off. Burns’ shot from distance evaded Anna Blanchard in the Aberdeen goal to make it 5-0.
The hosts pulled one back when Jo Fraser capitalised on an error by Johnstone, before rolling the ball into the empty net. But Motherwell responded within two minutes, Hare netting after a scramble in the Aberdeen box.
Kerry Montgomery was full of energy having come off the bench and after her bursting run into the box was ended by a careless foul, Mulvey stepped up to convert from the spot.
The final goal of the game came courtesy of Hare, who produced another excellent finish to round off a superb display.
The draw for the quarter final takes place on Tuesday morning, in which ‘Well could be paired with the likes of Celtic, Hibernian or Spartans.
Photography: Maureen Lyall / Aberdeen LFC