FROM the top of the toon tae the cross and further doon, they came in their thousands believing this would be Motherwell’s day. Almost every one of them holding true to the belief that fight, doggedness and hard work would be the cornerstone to take this wee team to Hampden for the fifth time this season. As they say, fifth time lucky.

And while those supporters – all 7000 of them – were proven right on the face of this rampant 3-0 win over Aberdeen, it was a landmark delivered with consideration and laced with poignancy.

Just a few hours before Motherwell took to the field in the first of the weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-finals, chief operating officer Alan Burrows provided all the motivation needed to stir the heart of the most intimidating figure in a claret and amber shirt. He posted a photo on Twitter of loyal supporter Anne Bulloch who had passed away in the run-up to this game. The emotional message paid tribute to a lady who not only held Motherwell dear, but had provided the floral buttonholes for the club’s last four cup finals, going back to the halcyon days of that afternoon in May 1991.

Boy, did her team do her proud here.

The forklore of that last generation to bring the Scottish Cup back to Fir Park was founded on the commitment which saw the class of 2018 race away from Aberdeen here. Curtis Main’s opener on 19 minutes knocked the stuffing out of a Dons team who arguably were the better of the two at that point. By the time Ryan Bowman grabbed a second just three minutes later on Grand National Day, Aberdeen’s race was almost run. Main’s second and Motherwell’s third on

66 minutes topped things off in emphatic style after a calamitous afternoon at the back for the bewildered troop opposite.

Both these sides met in this season’s Betfred Cup quarter-finals and Motherwell triumphed 3-0 on that night. Here, Aberdeen looked just as helpless. The Fir Park side simply wanted it more.

Without the trio of Graeme Shinnie, Kenny McLean and Shay Logan, a patched-up defence were negligent against Main and Bowman, while those deputising in midfield couldn’t cope with the snarling tenacity of Allan Campbell, Andy Rose and Liam Grimshaw. Chidiebere Nwakali looked lost before an ankle injury saw him exit just before half time. Ryan Christie’s end product also wasn’t what it has been, and in Adam Rooney and Stevie May, plenty of effort could not produce the goals or even clear-cut chances one would have expected.

But to focus on Aberdeen’s deficiencies would be doing Motherwell a disservice. It’s worth remembering they too were without captain Carl McHugh, the man who delivered them to this stage with a stunning winner over Hearts in the quarter-finals.

During the opening period, Aberdeen appeared to settle the quicker of the two as Motherwell’s midfield five seemed off the pace. That was until the opening on 20 minutes. It came from a direct punt up the park from Trevor Carson that was knocked on by the head of Dons defender Kari Arnason. Flummoxed by the whole charade, stand-in right-back Dom Ball was caught ball-watching as Richard Tait nipped in on the left, brought the ball down, and cut it back for Main to prod in from six yards. Replays later showed the use of a hand by Tait in the build-up.

Aberdeen barely had time to compose themselves before shipping another. A hashed clearance from Scott McKenna – captaining the side for the day – fell for Bowman just inside the box as he outmuscled Arnason. The forward’s initial shot was blocked well by Joe Lewis, but the man who signed a contract extension on Friday night reacted quickest to send the rebound trundling into the net.

The introduction of Gary Mackay-Steven for Nwakali almost brought an immediate response from Aberdeen. May found himself on the receiving end of a reverse pass from the winger on half time, only to drag his effort wide of the far post from 10 yards. A rasping shot from Rooney on the hour mark after the break aside, and that was pretty much it from Aberdeen.

There was still time though for Arnason’s day to get worse. The Icelandic defender attempted to scud a long clearance from the half-way line only to clatter it off of Main. The striker smelled blood as he rampaged in on goal and gave Lewis the eyes only to curl the ball over the goalkeeper.

The wild celebrations soon started with songs about claret-and-amber ribbons, twists and shouts. And quite deservedly, this was a day that belonged to Motherwell.

This was the day they made it to their second cup final in the one season, the first time since 1951. This was the day they moved a step closer to becoming heroes. This was the day they made a certain fan looking down very proud indeed.