Aberdeen slipped to fourth in the Scottish Premiership as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Motherwell.

Curtis Main's first-half header against the bar for Aberdeen was as close as either side came to a goal at Fir Park.

There was a lack of quality in the final third throughout, despite plenty of neat passing from both sides.

Aberdeen are now a point behind Hibernian, while Motherwell drop behind Dundee United to sixth.

The visitors were aiming to register a third straight league win for the first time since early October, while Motherwell were desperate to halt a miserable run of four straight defeats.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes named the same team that beat Kilmarnock on Sunday, with Main given a third straight start and Cosgrove left on the bench.

The continuity appeared to have worked initially as Main came close to squeezing in from close range after two minutes, with Kennedy scuffing wide from a good position just a minute later. And Main's header against the bar from Hedges' corner was ultimately as close as either team came.

Both sides - particularly the visitors - showed nice touches in their build-up, but there was very little incision in the final third. Hedges was full of endeavour and looked the most likely to make something happen, but too often his final ball was rushed or imprecise.

Motherwell defended comfortably for 70 minutes while barely threatening, but Stephen Robinson brought on Devante Cole in a bid to spark something and it almost worked.

The striker latched on to Tony Watt's ball before sliding a pass across the six-yard box, but Liam Polworth did not arrive in time to tap home.

Watt, while not getting into scoring positions himself, was effective in possession for Motherwell, and teed up Polworth with 10 minutes left, but the midfielder's shot was blocked by Andy Considine.

And Aberdeen were also denied by some good defending late on, with Liam Grimshaw getting in the way of Matty Kennedy's close-range header and Considine's low finish snuffed out by Rickie Lamie.

Ultimately, that was the story of the match. Defending won the day.

Man of the match - Ryan Hedges

What did we learn?

Motherwell are a team who have been lacking in confidence, and creativity has been an issue.

For large spells, they were once again blunt, but there was enough from Watt, Polworth, and Cole to hint at some progress in that regard. Defensively, they were never in serious trouble.

As for Aberdeen, a third straight clean sheet is a positive, but it has been a while since they clicked going forward for a sustained spell.

Hedges and Kennedy were their main threats, but were never close enough to goal to make a decisive impact. Cosgrove - their top scorer from last season - made little impact when he came off the bench at half-time, which is an ongoing concern for McInnes.

What they said

Motherwell assistant manager Keith Lasley: "There was a lot of good defending on show. We've not been on the greatest run, so to get that clean sheet gives us something to build on moving forward."

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "I thought we played well up until the penalty box - which is the most important part.

"I thought we were very competitive and the better team in terms of territory and all the rest of it. But clearly the nature of the game is to score goals and work the goalkeeper more."

What's next?

The Premiership continues on Boxing Day as Motherwell travel to Tannadice to play Dundee United (15:00 GMT), while Aberdeen host St Johnstone at the same time.