Aberdeen eased their way into the Betfred Cup last eight with a comfortable, yet scrappy victory over Hamilton, their second win over the Accies in four days.

It was a grim spectacle at times in terms of quality, but like a car crash on the other side of the motorway, the game had an unexplainable pull that grabbed your attention.

Certainly, there were a few bumps and collisions in the middle of the park, with fouls seemingly outnumbering completed passes throughout the evening, but the almost 2000-strong travelling support were rewarded at least with a goal from Kenny McLean which settled the tie in their side’s favour.

“I’m just delighted to get through,” said Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes. “The reaction when the draw was made was that it was going to be so tough and it was exactly that. It always is at Hamilton.”

Accies created a decent opening early on when Steven Boyd played a reverse ball into the channel for Ali Crawford to chase, who immediately returned the ball in Boyd’s direction as he thundered through into the area. Joe Lewis was quick out to smother though, taking a fair old thwack to the head for his troubles.

Referee Nick Walsh was infuriating both sets of players and fans, going from whistle-happy to absurdly lenient in an instant. He somehow missed a push on Rakish Bingham in midfield and then Xavier Tomas chopping down Graeme Shinnie just outside the area in quick succession.

A poor kick from Gary Woods then presented the ball to Nicky Maynard, who squared for Ryan Christie who was primed to burst the net. Woods did brilliantly though to get across and atone for his error by blocking behind.

There was a comedic moment as Crawford then somehow blocked a close-range effort from teammate Boyd on the Aberdeen goalline from an offside position, although it is doubtful that manager Martin Canning was laughing.

Andrew Considine should have done better than glance wide a dangerous cross from Shinnie at the back post, but Aberdeen would have the lead before the interval.

Scott Wright had been quiet out on the left, but he produced a lovely turn to send Grant Gillespie out for a pie before squaring for Shinnie. His shot was blocked, but the ball fell kindly for McLean who fired low under Woods.

Greg Docherty forced a fine save from Lewis at the other end as Accies tried to respond, and they had another chance just after the restart as Boyd played in Bingham, but he took too long allowing Reynolds to get back and block.

The visitors were relatively comfortable in the second half though, with little goalmouth action to speak of until substitutes Miles Storey and Greg Stewart combined for the latter to blaze over from inside the Hamilton area.

The closest Hamilton came to forcing extra time was a fine effort from Gillespie that flashed just wide after an enterprising run, but Aberdeen held out easily enough to claim their place in the hat.

Hamilton manager Martin Canning wasn’t too downbeat though.

“Am I happy with what I’m seeing? No, because we lost,” he said. “But am I encouraged by what I’m seeing? Absolutely.”

So, from one tricky tie in Lanarkshire to another for Aberdeen, who will now face Motherwell in the quarter-finals at Fir Park.

“Motherwell away is going to be tough,” said McInnes. “It’s another Premiership team we’re facing and we’d much rather be at home, but we beat Motherwell in the quarter-final down there the year we won it.

“We went down to 10 men and managed to dig out a result. It’s a tough venue but hopefully we go into it in good form through the league.”