Motherwell rode waves of first half pressure but Kevin Van Veen's well-taken second half brace ensured the Steelmen got back to winning ways after a string of disappointing results - including last week's thrashing by Rangers.
It was Stephen Glass' side who had endured an upturn in fortunes in recent weeks; picking up seven points from matches against Hibernian, Rangers and Hearts but their defensive fragilities were opened up by the Steelmen once again.
Aberdeen dropped to seventh after the defeat while Motherwell are now up to fifth. That makes it six defeats in 13 matches for the Dons this season.
Marley Watkins came close to an early opener but Sondre Solholm Johansen defended well before Liam Kelly denied Lewis Ferguson's goal-bound header with a superb save in the opening 5 minutes.
Aberdeen dominated the majority of possession early on.
The visitors were living life dangerously with several slack passes in their own 18-yard box and that led to Ferguson firing a gilt-edged chance over the bar after 16 minutes.
Dean Campbell, who was yet again deployed at left back in Jack McKenzie's absence, tested Kelly soon after as the Dons looked spurred on shooting towards a boisterous 'Red Shed'.
Motherwell remained competitive but Aberdeen looked frightening when countering in the first half.
Campbell and Ryan Hedges both made Kelly work before Watkins found himself one on one with the Motherwell keeper but was denied by the shot-stopper's outstretched leg with the half time whistle looming.
The visitors picked up three bookings in the opening 45 minutes ensuring Van Veen, Jordan Roberts and Barry Maguire were all walking a tightrope.
Bevis Mugabi filled in at right back for the Steelmen with Stephen O'Donnell serving a suspension and you could see that the Dons targeted that side with Campbell marauding up the pitch as often as he could.
Van Veen opened the scoring against the run of play after 50 minutes with the visitors first real chance of the game. He reacted superbly to a Sean Goss cross and fired past a helpless Joe Lewis. The Dons defence lost their shape and were punished.
Dutch striker Van Veen grabbed his second of the match seven minutes later with a well-taken half-volley from Rickie Lamie's header back across goal to complete a brace from his two chances.
The Dons huffed and puffed, bossing more possession and putting in plenty of good balls into the box but last ditch defending from the Motherwell defenders kept them at bay, changing to a five at the back while Scott Brown moved into midfield as the hosts chased a way back into the game.
A magnificent save from Kelly combined with some fortunate defending denied Aberdeen a goal back with 15 minutes remaining then Funso Ojo's rocket shot from distance was tipped over by the Well stopper.
Ferguson's shot with the clock running down summed up the Granite City side's fortunes as he fired directly into Kelly's hands.
Here’s three talking points from Pittodrie:
STEAL-men
Motherwell had slightly edged the head to head results in recent years with only one team scoring in the six previous meetings. That theme continued in this fixture once again.
Graham Alexander's men only boasted around 30% of the possession and two shots on target but the ultimate stat is the fact they were extremely clinical with the chances they did have. Especially the fact that Kevin Van Veen scored his third and fourth goals of the season to end a run of five without a win.
Alexander will also have goalkeeper Liam Kelly to thank after the stopper made a string of fine saves in the victory.
Van Veen loves playing the Dons
The Dutchman scored in the 2-0 win at Fir Park earlier in the season and followed that up with his brace at Pittodrie. He will be hoping he can play the team from the Granite City every week.
Hedges key to Dons success
It's no surprise that the upturn in performances in recent weeks has been aided by the return of Ryan Hedges from injury. However the Welshman was unable to make the desired impact in the match and was made very quiet by the Motherwell defence.
