“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
The opening to Charles Dickens’ novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ perfectly sums up a rollercoaster year of euphoric highs and crushing lows for Aberdeen.
There was the elation of qualifying for the group stage of a European competition for the first time in 16 years and the joy of reaching the Viaplay Cup final.
To the nadir of suffering a humiliating Scottish Cup exit at the hands of minnows Darvel.
That disastrous Darvel defeat was sandwiched between heavy Premiership defeats to Hibs and Hearts in one of the darkest weeks in the club’s 120-year history.
It was a year when Aberdeen sacked manager Jim Goodwin when languishing in the Premiership bottom six.
His replacement Barry Robson guided the Dons to a third-placed Premiership finish and Euro qualification.
We look at the five best games of an unforgettable 2023… and the five worst.
Aberdeen’s top five games of 2023
Aberdeen 3 St Mirren 0 (May 24, Premiership)
Aberdeen secured a third-placed Premiership finish to complete a remarkable turnaround under manager Barry Robson.
The Reds were in the bottom six when Robson took over the managerial role, initially on an interim basis, in late January.
He led them to a seven game winning Premiership streak.
Beating St Mirren moved Aberdeen four points clear of fourth-placed Hearts with just one game to play to confirm a third-placed finish.
There was a party atmosphere at Pittodrie at full-time as European qualification was confirmed.
Robson hailed his squad at full-time, saying: “I’m so proud of the players and what they’ve given us since we came in.
“They’ve been outstanding.
“It’s been a remarkable turnaround.
“From where we were to where we are now is a phenomenal achievement.”
Rangers 1 Aberdeen 3 (September 30, Premiership)
Aberdeen delivered a first win at Ibrox since a Scottish Cup triumph in March 2019.
Stefan Gartenmann, Jamie McGrath and Jack MacKenzie netted the goals to sink Rangers.
It was also the Dons’ first league win away to Rangers since December 2018.
Aberdeen silenced Ibrox in the 38th minute when Stefan Gartenmann fired home the opener from six yards.
Jamie McGrath made it 2-0 in the 68th minute when drilling a 12-yard effort beyond the keeper.
Rangers were reduced to 10 men soon after when former Aberdeen winger Scott Wright, on as a half-time sub, was dismissed for a second yellow.
Rangers hit back in the 75th minute through Abdallah Sima from close range.
However Jack MacKenzie’s powerful drive off the underside of the bar made it 3-1 to the joy of the travelling fans.
Just 48 hours after that loss. Rangers sacked manager Michael Beale.
Aberdeen 1 Hibs 0 (November 4, Viaplay Cup semi-final)
Aberdeen booked a Viaplay Cup final slot with a dramatic 1-0 victory against Hibs at Hampden with Bojan Miovski scoring the winner.
The Reds faced an uphill task when Jack MacKenzie was sent off after receiving a second booking for a petulant push on Lewis Miller in the 75th minute.
However only three minutes after being reduced to 10 men the Dons netted the winner.
Leading scorer Miovski raced onto a Dante Polvara through-ball before shooting beyond keeper David Marshall.
Hibs looked to have grabbed the lead in the second half through Martin Boyle but the goal was chalked off for offside following a VAR review.
PAOK 2 Aberdeen 2 (November 9, Europa Conference League)
Aberdeen underlined their Euro group-stage credentials by drawing with Group G leaders, and eventual winners, PAOK in Greece.
PAOK’s infamous Toumba Stadium is renowned as ‘The Black Hell’ due to the hostile, intimidating atmosphere.
However the Dons held their nerve in the Toumba.
PAOK’S crowd were twice silenced by Aberdeen thanks to goals from Duk and Jamie McGrath.
Duk netted a superb opener on the turn then McGrath levelled with a sensational long-range free-kick curled into the top corner.
It was bittersweet for the Dons as despite the heroics in Greece hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages ended that night.
Aberdeen 2 Eintracht Frankfurt 0 (December 14, Europa Conference League)
This game was effectively a ‘dead rubber’ as Aberdeen couldn’t qualify from the group when this fixture came around.
But try telling that to the Dons fans who watched their club beat a German Bundesliga giant who had thrashed Bayern Munich 5-1 just days earlier.
Eintracht Frankfurt have a formidable continental pedigree and won the Europa League in 2022.
Aberdeen finished the Europa Conference League campaign on a high with their first win of Group G.
Duk and Ester Sokler scored either side of the break in a win that secured a third-placed finish in Europa Conference League Group G.
And the worst of times in 2023…
Hearts 5 Aberdeen 0 (January 18, Premiership)
Aberdeen were overrun in Edinburgh as Hearts romped to a 4-0 half-time lead via goals from Michael Smith, Lawrence Shankland and Josh Ginnelly.
Graeme Shinnie also netted an own goal in a disastrous opening 45 minutes.
Cammy Devlin added a fifth after the break and woeful Aberdeen were fortunate not to lose by a higher score-line.
It left Aberdeen with just one win in eight games and trailing third placed Hearts by nine points.
The pressure was beginning to mount on boss Jim Goodwin.
Darvel 1 Aberdeen 0 (January 23, Scottish Cup)
No contest here for the lowest point of 2023 as Aberdeen crashed to the worst defeat in the club’s proud 120-year history.
Embarrassed and humiliated, this dark day for the Dons was arguably the biggest ever cup upset in Scotland.
Darvel are in the West of Scotland Football League Premier Division, the sixth tier of Scottish football but overturned the odds to shock the Dons.
The minnows grabbed the winner in the 19th minute when Jordan Kirkpatrick fired in low from 12 yards beyond keeper Joe Lewis.
Aberdeen’s 700-strong travelling support made their anger clear at full-time.
Boss Jim Goodwin vowed to fight on, saying: “I do believe I can turn it around, absolutely.”
He didn’t.
Hibs 6 Aberdeen 0 (January 28, Premiership)
Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack stuck by manager Jim Goodwin after the Darvel debacle but demanded an “immediate response”.
It didn’t come as the Dons were destroyed in Edinburgh to seal Goodwin’s exit.
Josh Campbell netted a hat-trick with Elie Youan, Kevin Nisbet and Will Fish also scoring as Aberdeen collapsed in the capital.
Cormack sacked Goodwin immediately after the loss and then addressed the press at Easter Road in the slot normally used for manager’s post-match thoughts.
The chairman said he had to axe Goodwin after being left “embarrassed, humiliated and shell-shocked” by recent form.
Goodwin was the third manager disposed of by Cormack in two years as he also wielded the axe on Stephen Glass and Derek McInnes.
Celtic 6 Aberdeen 0 (November 12, Premiership)
Aberdeen’s atrocious form at Parkhead continued with a humiliating defeat against Celtic.
This latest chastening defeat meant the Reds have lost 34 of their last 36 league visits to Parkhead, taking just four points from a possible 108.
The Dons have failed to defeat Celtic in 23 matches in all competitions, with the last win coming at Parkhead on the final day of the 2017-18 season.
Aberdeen were 3-0 down after the regulation 90 minutes, which was a flattering score-line for the Reds.
However a complete collapse in injury time saw the loss of three late goals for a more realistic 6-0 hammering.
Celtic were 2-0 up after just 16 minutes via goals from Yang Hyun-jun and Kyogo Furuhashi.
It was 3-0 in the 77th minute when Luis Palma converted a penalty.
Aberdeen completely collapsed in injury time, conceding three times to David Turnbull and a Oh Hyeon-gyu brace.
Aberdeen 0 Rangers 1 (December 17, Viaplay Cup final)
There is no doubting the achievement of boss Barry Robson and his squad in reaching a cup final, the club’s first since 2018.
However the final is one of the worst games of 2023 due to the sense of disappointment felt by Dons fans.
Aberdeen failed to register a single shot on target in the bid to win a first trophy since 2014.
There was also the added frustration of two clear penalty calls for Aberdeen being rejected.
Defender Stefan Gartenmann’s jersey was pulled by Todd Cantwell in the first half.
In injury time Dons striker Duk was fouled from behind by keeper Jack Butland.
There was a sense Rangers were there for the taking in a final where James Tavernier netted a second-half winner.
Which will have left a feeling of ‘what if’ for Aberdeen fans.
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