An incident-packed first half saw both sides have early sighters, even before Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis pushed a Doidge header onto the post with the visitors convinced the ball had crossed the line.

Hibs handed a first start to youngster Jamie Gullan in support of Doidge up front and he could have marked the occasion with a goal as he found space behind the home defence, only for Lewis to again make an important block.

Aberdeen began to look the more likely as time wore on, with Niall McGinn forcing Ofir Marciano to push over his inswinging corner 10 minutes before the break, shortly before a Connor McLennan cross swept towards goal by Main also tested the keeper.

But they were hit by a sucker punch as Shay Logan broke out of position on the right of Aberdeen's back three, only for a heavy touch to allow Hibs to break. They worked the ball forward through Scott Allan, who picked out Doidge and the striker rounded Lewis before firing home from a tight angle.

The home side looked to recover quickly but were denied a clear penalty just moments later, as Ferguson was hauled down by Greg Docherty only for assistant referee Andrew McWilliam, who had a clear view of the incident, to instead signal for a goal kick.

Whittaker was booked for a foul on Lewis Ferguson in between the goal and penalty claim and just 10 minutes after the break he saw red for another foul on the same man, with Melker Hallberg quickly coming into the midfield as a substitute for Gullan.

Aberdeen quickly took advantage of having an extra man as Niall McGinn's cross from the left had Jackson all over the place at the near post before the defender put past his own goalkeeper.

And within two minutes they were 2-1 up. McGinn was again the architect with his left-wing corner this time causing mayhem at the back post, and Considine scrambled the ball home from close range.

The Dons were in charge now and Main swept home a third from 10 yards after Bruce Anderson's shot was blocked as they threatened to completely overwhelm the visitors.