Same old Motherwell. Fortess Fir Park. They just don’t lose here. They barely lose goals here and didn’t again.

What a season this is. You turn up expecting them to win and more often than not, they do.

They might have made this far more comfortable than they did having missed a number of glaring opportunities to add to their lead.

That opened the door to Aberdeen but, once again, Askou’s side had the various elements that all knit together to make them a formidable side.

They stood firm when they had to, continued to create when possible and made sure they took another excellent win when under pressure.

There seems no ceiling to how far they can go this term with an opportunity to progress further in the Scottish Cup to follow midweek.

Aberdeen handed debuts to four new recruits but that freshness did not translate into a change in fortunes here.

They just cannot seem to find a way to consistently produce. A two-week break to regroup doesn’t seem to have brought much of an extra dimension on this evidence, albeit they did markedly improve.

Defensively, they were exposed numerous times with Motherwell wasteful in some fabulous positions.

Up front, they rarely threatened in the first half other than Nisbet’s strike which was close to an opener. That threat did increase but they weren’t clinical at crucial moments.

Another tough test awaits in the cup midweek. If they have designs on a top-six place, they must start delivering Premiership wins with some regularity or that may soon be a bridge too far.