Aberdeen will take to the pitch for the 5000th time in the club’s history this weekend when they face Rangers at Pittodrie.
Kevin Stirling, who went to his first Dons game in 1966, has been Aberdeen FC’s historian for more than two decades and is the historical editor of the club’s programme.
The 63-year-old has recently published his fifth book on the Dons – Aberdeen Greatest Games which looks at the Dons’ 50 finest matches.
Ahead of a milestone game for the club, Stirling has whittled down his selection to his own personal top five in the club’s history.
Aberdeen 3-1 Celtic
Scottish Cup final – 11 April 1970
There was a crowd of 108,464 at the game and I was one of them. I was 11 at the time and went to the game with my father.
That was my first taste of a big crowd and the final was incredible. We were in the Mount Florida end and I remember Joe Harper getting ready to take the penalty for the opening goal.
It felt like it took forever becase the Celtic players were complaining about the decision for so long. Joe was my hero and I couldn’t bare to watch. I put my hands over my eyes and when I finally looked up I just saw the ball nestling nicely in the corner of the net and heard the roar of the crowd.
Derek ‘Cup Tie’ McKay got the two late goals that brought the silverware back to Pittodrie.
I remember coming home, there were thousands of people arriving at the train station in Aberdeen.
It was maybe 10pm but the atmosphere was incredible. The train station was bouncing and I hadn’t experienced anything like that before.
I still have my Green Final from that day. I picked it up at the station and treasured it ever since.
Aberdeen 4-1 Rangers (after extra time)
Scottish Cup final – 22 May 1982
This victory opened the door to the following season’s memorable European Cup Winners’ Cup campaign and a period no Aberdeen fan will ever forget.
I remember being at the opening tie in the cup run against Motherwell at Fir Park in the third round when John Hewitt scored the quickest goal in Scottish Cp history (timed at 9.6 seconds).
That was a tough game as Motherwell were playing well and hadn’t lost at home that season until that point.
The final against Rangers was a breakthrough moment for the Dons. I was at the 1978 Scottish Cup final when we didn’t turn up. Then we lost the in the final of the League Cup in both of the next two seasons.
To beat Rangers in their own city in such an emphatic manner was a great feeling, especially after a run of losing in cup finals.
We lost the first goal and got back on level terms through Alex McLeish.
You just knew if it went to extra time that Aberdeen would win – and they did thanks to goals from Mark McGhee, Gordon Strachan and Neale Cooper.
When Neale Cooper scored the final goal, it was like a message was sent out to the rest of Scottish football. This was Aberdeen’s time to shine.
It was a win that paved the way for the following season and we showed a real authority which we had lacked in the cup finals before then.
We went into that game as hot favourites as we had beaten Rangers 4-0 the week before at Pittodrie.
The win was expected but the manner they did it in extra time was exceptional. It was a team on the brink of greatness and they gave a hint of what was to come that day.
Aberdeen 3-2 Bayern Munich
European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final second leg – 16 March 1983
This was Pittodrie’s greatest night.
We should have won the first leg but drew 0-0. We created so many chances in Munich and defended unbelievably well against a top side.
Willie Miller was exceptional in both games against Bayern.
Winning that game at Pittodrie was a shock because when Bayern went 2-1 up it looked like the European dream was all but over.
It all changed thanks to two quickfire goals from Alex McLeish and John Hewitt and it was utter bedlam at the ground.
I had a season ticket which was right behind the dugout. I remember spilling onto the pitch at full-time and ended up shaking hands with Uli Hoeness, the Bayern general manager. He was more in shock than I was.
I actually met him again when Aberdeen played Bayern Munich in the Uefa Cup in 2008. We had a chat and he signed my son’s programme. He remembered the game against Aberdeen and simply recalled: “Miller – very good.” That was a fair assessment.
Aberdeen 2-1 Real Madrid
European Cup Winners’ Cup final – 11 May 1983
Without doubt, the greatest match in the club’s history.
I went to the match on the St Clair ferry and it was an incredible experience.
I had actually been on the St Clair many times as my father worked on it and we used to go to Shetland during the school holidays.
The St Clair felt like home from home for me as I must have been on it 20 or 30 times before.
Going to Gothenburg on that ferry was a surreal experience.
The game was almost postponed but none of the fans really picked up on that before they got to the ground – I certainly didn’t.
When you got to the stadium you saw the problems the torrential rain had caused and soon realised the match was in doubt.
Thankfully it went ahead.
The conditions did help us but I still think we would have won that game whatever the weather.
I managed to go to all of the games on the run to the Cup Winners’ Cup final apart from the tie against Dinamo Tirana in Albania as it was pretty much impossible to get there.
You would have had to have gone to the Albanian embassy in Paris to apply for a visa but it was highly unlikely it would be granted.
I remember speaking to Ian Taggart, the Aberdeen FC club secretary at the time, and he said he wasn’t even getting to the game so I knew suppporters weren’t going to be able to go.
There were great scenes of celebration after John Hewitt’s winning goal against Real Madrid but we weren’t in shock or surprised by the outcome.
We went into the game against probably the most famous side in the world knowing we could do it – and we did. It was a great feeling of joy and a moment that will never be surpassed.
Aberdeen 2-1 Dundee United
Scottish Premier Division – 6 May 1995
It is easy to focus on the most successful occasions when considering the greatest games in Aberdeen’s history but this was a hugely important encounter.
The atmosphere at Pittodrie for this crucial game against Dundee United that day was intense.
Aberdeen were bottom of the league at the time and on the brink of being relegated as they faced Dundee United, the team directly above them, in the penultimate league game of a difficult season.
There were a lot of nerves as that game was about utter survival.
The 2-1 win thanks to goals from Billy Dodds and Duncan Shearer meant the Dons moved off the bottom of the table and above United.
They ended up being relegated after losing to Celtic in their final game of the season while a 2-0 win at Falkirk ensured Aberdeen would face Dunfermline in the first Premier Division play-off.
There is no game in our history that was more of a must-win than that one against Dundee United. The club has never been relegated in its 120-year history but it was very close that season.
It shows a level of consistency to remain in the top division for so long.
When the goals went in the noise was unbelievable.
Dundee United got a goal back towards the end but the support carried the players through – and it was the same in the Dunfermline play-off games which followed as the Dons preserved their top-flight status.
It was a moment that showed how much the club meant to a lot of people because they turned out in great numbers during a time of adversity.
- Kevin Stirling’s new book – Aberdeen Great Games – is on sale now. More information is available at pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/aberdeen-greatest-games
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