Aberdeen finally ended their winless run after 12 games without a victory by easing past 10-man Elgin City in the Scottish Cup.

The Dons earned their place in the fifth round with goals from Shayden Morris and Duk at Borough Briggs, with the latter getting his first strikes of the season in controversial fashion.

Lyall Booth was given his marching orders for the League Two outfit in the second-half, but by then the result was in the bag for Aberdeen, with Pape Habib Gueye also making his long-awaited return from injury at Borough Briggs.

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It was not only a much-needed win for the Reds that put their horror run to bed, but the perfect start for Jimmy Thelin as the manager secured his side's place in the fifth round in his first Scottish Cup outing.

But it was a performance that fans will feel could and should have reaped more goals, with a far improved attacking display pleasing the manager in Moray.

A minute's applause was held before kick-off to remember Aberdeen's favourite son Denis Law after the 84-year-old Manchester United and Scotland legend's passing on Friday.

Elgin were first to create a decent opportunity, with the Dons failing to clear the penalty box as Dajon Golding saw his effort cleared off the line; Lewis Hyde firing the stray rebound wide.

Another chance came for the hosts as Ryan Sargent was left unmarked at the back post, but his poor header was cleared and the striker was left to rue a missed opportunity.

Another chance for Elgin as a cross reaches Ryan Sargent unmarked at the back post, but the striker's header is poor and the Dons clear.

The host's bright start was looking all too familiar to recent results suffered by Aberdeen, and they had to find a way to stamp their authority on the game, with the seismic upset at Darvel still in the minds of many.

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But Morris was on hand to ease fears among the travelling Red Army, as the winger broke the deadlock in Moray after a nervy 20 minutes.

Peter Ambrose's header was saved brilliantly by Aiden Glavin, but the keeper couldn't shut out Morris who rifled home from around the penalty spot.

Morris then had a brilliant chance to make it 2-0 and put one foot into the fifth round, but his drilled strike was deflected wide of the post as Thelin's men started to take full control.

Ambrose was denied one-on-one by Glavin before Nicky Devlin stormed into the box looking to double the Dons' lead going into the break.

It remained 1-0 come half-time however as Kyle Girvan's sliding block in front of his own goal shut out the full-back, with Thelin's men a goal to the good at the interval.

Aberdeen started the brighter of the two teams, with Ambrose looking to punish the hosts early on, but he could only fire an effort across the face of goal and out of play.

Morris then rattled the woodwork with the winger's side-footed attempt crashing off Elgin's near post, with a second goal for Thelin's men starting to feel inevitable.

After a lengthy injury absence that has kept him off the pitch since September, Gueye made his long-awaited return to action, replacing Dante Polvara on the approach to the hour mark.

In a five-versus-one break forward, Glavin turned Morris' drive forward out and denied the winger another strong chance of doubling his side's lead.

There was a big scare at the back for the Dons when a ball through the defence was launched forward by Ross Doohan, only to clatter off Devlin and just bounce wide of the post, with Elgin nearly gifted an equaliser.

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However Aberdeen finally got their second of the game, with Duk bagged what looked to be the winner with less than 20 minutes to go at Borough Briggs.

Their attacking intentions finally reaped its reward but in controversial fashion, as Duk's header from the corner was held the Glavin, but the referee ruled the ball had crossed the line, much to the fury of the home side.

Things then got worse for Elgin as Lyall Booth was given his marching orders; the left-back given a second yellow by referee Calum Scott.

Aberdeen could've bagged themselves a third to kill the game off, but Kristers Tobers was denied his first goal in red as his header was easily dealt with by the keeper.

Olly McDonald had a glorious chance to restore some pride for his side but could only lash the ball at Doohan, and Aberdeen stormed back up the other end to finish with a flourish.

And they did just that as Duk got his second and the Dons' third by curling the ball beyond Glavin in the dying seconds of injury time.

At long last the winless run was over, with the deserved winners left the pitch looking relieved to finally get their first victory of 2025.

The Dons will now wait and see who they will face in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup, with the draw for the last 16 set to take place on Monday night, January 20.

After that it's all focus back on fixing their Premiership form, with a visit from St Mirren up next as they look to gain revenge over the side who handed the Reds their first defeat of the season and started that dreadful winless run.