Motherwell and Hibernian saw their top-six hopes ended following a high-stakes encounter at Fir Park where the Steelmen snatched a late equaliser in a thrilling finale.

Shane Blaney struck deep into stoppage time to earn a 1-1 draw for the hosts after Myziane Maolida had put Hibernian ahead with a 65th-minute penalty.

Both sides entered the encounter with aspirations of finishing in the top six with Motherwell needing a win to have any chance of catching sixth-placed Dundee.

A draw could have sufficed for Hibs – if Dundee lost their last two games – but it ultimately was not enough as Dundee picked up a point against Aberdeen to secure their top-six place ahead of facing Rangers on Wednesday night.

Hibs looked comfortable at Fir Park after taking the lead through Maolida’s second-half penalty but Blaney killed their dreams at the death with a thunderous left-footed finish beyond David Marshall.

Motherwell should have won it just 30 seconds later when Oli Shaw somehow diverted the ball wide from yards out but the result left the Hibs support furious as they made their discontent known towards the players at full-time.

The wind caused havoc for both sides on a blustery afternoon in Lanarkshire and there was a distinct lack of quality on show but a three-minute spell in the second half was pivotal.

Motherwell had the ball in the net through the in-form Theo Bair after 62 minutes following a sublime turn and pass from Lennon Miller but it was ruled out for offside with VAR backing up the linesman’s initial decision.

And just two minutes later, Hibernian were awarded a penalty when Stephen O’Donnell clumsily connected with Will Fish as he attempted to turn and Willie Collum did not hesitate to point to the spot.

Maolida stepped up confidently and rolled the ball past Liam Kelly in front of an ecstatic away support.

However, those same fans were left far from happy at the end following Blaney’s late intervention.

Chances were at a premium in the first half with Chris Cadden coming closest for the visitors when Liam Kelly tipped his powerful effort over the bar while Motherwell failed to click as an attacking threat.

Hibs, however, had the better opportunities after the break with Emiliano Hansen failing to connect properly with a dangerous fizzed cross from Nathan Moriah-Welsh before Elie Youan fired tamely at Kelly just minutes later.

There was a flashpoint after 56 minutes when Rocky Bushiri went down in the box with the travelling contingent screaming for a penalty but ref Collum was unmoved.

The experienced referee booked the Hibs centre-back before a flare-up ensued between both sets of players with Blair Spittal and Martin Boyle also cautioned for their involvement.

Interim Aberdeen boss Peter Leven was delighted after his side dug deep to defeat Motherwell and give themselves some breathing space in the cinch Premiership relegation battle.

Leighton Clarkson netted the only goal of the game after 25 minutes, before the Dons survived a disallowed goal and a last-gasp penalty claim.

Aberdeen’s first league win in 12 games moved them into ninth place, though their advantage over Ross County in the relegation play-off spot remains at three points after the Staggies defeated Hearts.

But Leven said: “There is a bit of breathing space and the three points are massive.

“But we can’t look at other teams around us. It’s all about us and what we can do.

“I don’t look at what happened elsewhere. We can’t affect what happens elsewhere and the boys just need to keep getting results and keep climbing the table.”

Leven felt a first clean-sheet in a dozen games was key in ending their winless league run.

Despite some nervous moments, Kelle Roos and the Aberdeen defence held strong.

“I thought we were brave, we didn’t panic and I thought we controlled the game,” Leven added.

“The flip side of it for me is the way we defended – getting a clean sheet is massive.”

Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell was fuming after vital VAR decisions went against his team.

Lennon Miller looked to have levelled five minutes before half-time, only for the goal to be ruled out for handball against Theo Bair following a lengthy VAR check.

It then looked like the Steelmen would be awarded a penalty after the ball struck the arm of Graeme Shinnie in the final seconds, but the Dons player was not punished.

“I’ve just looked at the incident at the end of the game, it’s the first time I’ve had that situation,” Kettlewell said.

“The ball 100 per cent comes off Shinnie’s arm and his arm is out from his body.

“We’ve all spoke about the incidents you see with Celtic and Hearts the other week there – somehow I don’t think this will gather as much traction as what that did.

“Somebody is going to have to sum this up for me, somebody is going to have to give me some sort of clarity.

“I’ve already said I’m not going back and speaking to (Scottish Football Association head of referee operations) Crawford Allan because it’s going absolutely nowhere on a Monday morning, trying to find out why that was the case.

“We’re going to have to try tidy this up for the sake of Scottish football.

“What I should be doing as always is talking about our team, our performance and how the game has went – but no we’re back talking about handballs and VAR.”

Aberdeen recorded their first cinch Premiership victory since January with a 1-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park.

Leighton Clarkson slammed home the decisive goal after 25 minutes to end a run of 11 games without a league win for the Dons and keep them three points clear of second-bottom Ross County.

Motherwell thought they had drawn themselves level when Lennon Miller found the net five minutes before half-time but they were denied following a lengthy VAR check.

Aberdeen leapfrogged St Johnstone into ninth, while Motherwell’s chances of a top-six spot are fading fast after losing ground on sixth-placed Hibernian.

There was a controversial moment inside the opening 40 seconds when Junior Hoilett was shown a yellow card for a dive inside the box.

Dons striker Bojan Miovski came close to ending his run of seven games without a goal with a deft chip that sailed just past the post.

Motherwell almost opened the scoring with their first opportunity. Blair Spittal’s free-kick was only partially cleared and it required a vital block by Jack MacKenzie to divert Dan Casey’s close-range effort behind for a corner.

Dons caretaker Peter Leven was forced into an early change as Nicky Devlin hobbled off and was replaced by Jack Milne in the 22nd minute.

Aberdeen made the breakthrough thanks to a controlled finish from Clarkson after Miovski’s shot had cannoned off the post.

Motherwell responded in a positive fashion. Sam Nicholson passed up a good opportunity to level after superbly controlling Stephen O’Donnell’s pass from deep inside his own half before firing against the legs of Kelle Roos.

It looked like Miller had found an equaliser when he angled a low drive that deflected beyond Roos. However, his goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check deemed Theo Bair to have handled in the build-up.

An eventful first half ended with further chances. Connor Barron should have doubled Aberdeen’s lead after he rose unmarked to meet Hoilett’s corner and Liam Kelly was then forced into a good stop to turn Miovski’s goal-bound shot over the bar.

Stuart Kettlewell made a double change at half-time as he introduced Georgie Gent and Andy Halliday in place of Bevis Mugabi and Nicholson.

The hosts were struggling to break through the stubborn Dons defence and they almost found themselves two goals behind when Miovski brought out a fantastic one-handed save from Kelly.

Spittal had a tame effort gathered, before Casey took the brunt of a fizzing Jamie McGrath shot in the face.

Two fine saves from Roos in quick succession kept out Bair and the Canadian striker then glanced wide from his third chance in the space of a minute.

Halliday was next to force a crucial save from Roos with a curling effort from the edge of the box.

The away side were still offering a threat on the counter-attack, and Kelly produced some heroics of his own to deny Dante Polvara.

Aberdeen recorded their first cinch Premiership victory of 2024 with a 1-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park.

Leighton Clarkson slammed home the decisive goal after 25 minutes to end a run of 12 games without a league win for the Dons and move them three points clear of second-bottom Ross County.

Motherwell thought they had drawn themselves level when Lennon Miller found the net five minutes before half-time but they were denied following a lengthy VAR check.

Aberdeen leapfrogged St Johnstone into ninth, while Motherwell’s chances of a top-six spot are fading fast after losing ground on sixth-placed Hibernian.

There was a controversial moment inside the opening 40 seconds when Junior Hoilett was shown a yellow card for a dive inside the box.

Dons striker Bojan Miovski came close to ending his run of seven games without a goal with a deft chip that sailed just past the post.

Motherwell almost opened the scoring with their first opportunity. Blair Spittal’s free-kick was only partially cleared and it required a vital block by Jack MacKenzie to divert Dan Casey’s close-range effort behind for a corner.

Dons caretaker Peter Leven was forced into an early change as Nicky Devlin hobbled off and was replaced by Jack Milne in the 22nd minute.

Aberdeen made the breakthrough thanks to a controlled finish from Clarkson after Miovski’s shot had cannoned off the post.

Motherwell responded in a positive fashion. Sam Nicholson passed up a good opportunity to level after superbly controlling Stephen O’Donnell’s pass from deep inside his own half before firing against the legs of Kelle Roos.

It looked like Miller had found an equaliser when he angled a low drive that deflected beyond Roos. However, his goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check deemed Theo Bair to have handled in the build-up.

An eventful first half ended with further chances. Connor Barron should have doubled Aberdeen’s lead after he rose unmarked to meet Hoilett’s corner and Liam Kelly was then forced into a good stop to turn Miovski’s goal-bound shot over the bar.

Stuart Kettlewell made a double change at half-time as he introduced Georgie Gent and Andy Halliday in place of Bevis Mugabi and Nicholson.

The hosts were struggling to break through the stubborn Dons defence and they almost found themselves two goals behind when Miovski brought out a fantastic one-handed save from Kelly.

Spittal had a tame effort gathered, before Casey took the brunt of a fizzing Jamie McGrath shot in the face.

Two fine saves from Roos in quick succession kept out Bair and the Canadian striker then glanced wide from his third chance in the space of a minute.

Halliday was next to force a crucial save from Roos with a curling effort from the edge of the box.

The away side were still offering a threat on the counter-attack, and Kelly produced some heroics of his own to deny Dante Polvara.

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell described Theo Bair’s international call-up as just reward for his hard work and ambition along with the efforts of many others at the club.

Bair has been included in the Canada squad ahead of their CONCACAF Nations League play-off against Trinidad and Tobago on March 23.

The former St Johnstone striker, 24, won his second and most recent cap in 2020 after scoring on his international debut and has been recalled after producing nine goals and three assists in his past 10 cinch Premiership games for Motherwell.

“I know when Theo came here he had a real ambition to back get in that Canadian squad. It’s his just reward, he has been working tirelessly,” said Kettlewell, who has also seen the likes of Liam Kelly, Adam Devine, Lennon Miller, Bevis Mugabi and Davor Zdravkovski get international recognition.

“We are delighted for him and all the lads who have had international call-ups.

“I think he is the most humble person I have ever met. He thinks he has loads to go, as do we.

“When you look into how he is performing, I thought there were so many good qualities early in the season, but you can see how much it evolves when there’s a bit of confidence in there, once he starts hitting the back of the net.

“It’s just fine margins, different types of movement, utilising his frame and his physicality, probably getting him fitter. His work rate is top drawer, he presses from the front.

“It’s taken him time to get there and big Theo will acknowledge that, because he is probably a bit of a baby when you look at the game time he has played.

“He didn’t come here with loads of minutes, 24 years old doesn’t mean you are sitting there with 150-200 appearances. I believe when you have that trust and opportunity to play, that’s when you see the fruits of your labour.

“Now with that level of confidence, you start to see him maybe take part in elements of the game where before he was maybe looking at one of his team-mates.”

Motherwell recently gave an insight into the work they and Bair have been doing behind the scenes to spark his prolific run, including footage of video analysis sessions.

“Ross Clarkson and Graeme McArthur, our two analysts, are absolutely sensational at what they do, the level of detail they go to, but the bit that goes unnoticed is the work ethic,” Kettlewell said. “We feel we have that in the staff in general.

“We have players who go to lengths to get the best out of their career but also all the staff have that same vision and ambition for your career.

“But we need guys who are coachable and want the best out of their career. If we get that we will give them every minute of every day to meet the goals they set themselves but also what we think they can get to.”

Meanwhile Jon Obika has suffered another hamstring injury in training having already had three lay-offs with a similar issue over the past 12 months.

“I don’t have a specific update, we will have him scanned and find out what’s going on,” Kettlewell said.

New signing Moses Ebiye could feature against Aberdeen on Saturday but Kettlewell warned the 26-year-old Nigerian striker had not played a competitive game for some time, having left Norwegian side Aalesund in January.

“He has taken part in every training session and has had minutes on the pitch in a bounce game,” he said. “But I need to manage expectations. I think he can possibly give us something at this stage but it’s very, very early.”