Calderwood says his side battled their way to victory

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood praised Charlie Mulgrew's dead-ball prowess and his side's battling qualities in the 1-0 SPL win over Motherwell.

Mulgrew curled home a 25-yard free-kick with four minutes left of a match which was heading for a goalless draw.

"He has got that quality - we were doing free-kicks and corners yesterday and his delivery was fantastic," Calderwood said.

"We can play a lot better, and Motherwell can, but it's a vital win."

Debutant Tommy Wright forced Graeme Smith into a fine save from a header but Aberdeen had otherwise struggled going forward.

Motherwell enjoyed the better of the play but lacked a cutting edge and Jamie Langfield produced a good diving save from Paul Quinn's header.

Calderwood continued: "We had to battle, we lost 14 away games last season and it cost us dearly in the end and you have got to come to very difficult venues and scrape and scratch.

"Mulgrew got a rollicking for the first-half effort, which was a joke for his quality, but he can be very dangerous."

The strike was a huge lift for the Dons, who saw fitness problems compound last week's loss to Inverness.

Jamie Smith fell ill in the morning, leaving Aberdeen one player short on their bench, while Zander Diamond lasted just 20 minutes of his first appearance this season.

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Diamond was brought in at right-back after missing the 2-0 defeat to Inverness and much of pre-season because of a foot injury, but he limped off with a thigh strain.

"I left Lee Mair at home, Zander felt it yesterday and I never knew that. It's a lesson and we will bring extra players with us in future."