Adam Rooney scored from the penalty spot as Aberdeen beat Hamilton 1-0 to ensure the Premiership leaders made it seven wins out of seven in the league so far.
It was a much tighter affair than the home support might have hoped for, and a sense of nervousness was evident the longer the game went on, but ultimately Aberdeen were able extend their lead over Celtic to five points.
The crowd were expectant after the 2-1 weekend win over the champions but fending off Hamilton was far from straightforward.
Aberdeen's Niall McGinn went close with a free-kick from 30 yards after 18 minutes with Hamilton goalkeeper Michael McGovern pushing his effort round the post.
The visitors looked a different proposition from the side soundly beaten 4-1 by St Johnstone at the weekend but it was the home side who broke the deadlock midway through the first half.
Graeme Shinnie's neat touch on the left saw him, for the second game in succession, brought down to earn his side a penalty, and Rooney reprised his role in finding the net from 12 yards.
There was a scare for the hosts just a couple of minutes later, however, when livewire winger Dougie Imrie broke into the penalty area and went down but referee Crawford Allan booked the Hamilton man for simulation.
Grant Gillespie then went close to bringing the visitors level with a fierce strike from the edge of the area.
There was a sense that Aberdeen would need a second goal to ensure the three points, and Rooney went close to providing it as he evaded the Accies defence to meet a Ryan Jack cross, only for McGovern to throw up a strong arm to block the striker's point-blank header.
Accies then went close through Gramoz Kurtaj, who saw a low strike deflected wide as they enjoyed a fine period of pressure.
Josh Parker replaced Jonny Hayes as Aberdeen looked to freshen things up and his impact was almost immediate.
He provided a right-wing cross which was eventually worked back to McGinn, who saw his powerful drive crash back off the crossbar.
Parker himself passed up a golden opportunity to seal the points as he burst clear of the Hamilton defence after 84 minutes, only to delay his shot, allowing Jesus Garcia Tena to get in a vital challenge.
Ash Taylor was forced off with a facial injury in the final minute of the 90, which will have done little to calm the home nerves as Rooney found himself filling in at centre-back as Hamilton kept knocking at the door.
However, Aberdeen held on for a hard-fought three points and boss Derek McInnes was pleased just to get the win after what proved to be a nervy ending to the game.
"We dug in and got the job done," he said. "There's not a successful team out there that hasn't had to win a game like that. The performance wasn't what we'd hoped for, but the outcome is what we wanted.
"The positives are that Rooney has scored again, we've got another clean sheet. We've got seven wins from seven and move five points clear. We're delighted with that."