Having maintained their hugely impressive one hundred percent start to the season, and joined Celtic at the top of the Premiership table thanks to last week’s win over St Mirren, Aberdeen turn their attention back to the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday.
The group stage presented no real difficulties and they now kick-off the knockout phase with a home game against Queen’s Park – a fixture which has been played only five times in the last half-century or so.
I am old enough to remember the two encounters in the old-style League Cup groups back in the 1972-73 season, the Dons winning 5-1 and 3-0, with Joe Harper helping himself to five of the goals.
I also attended the three other meetings.
The 2-0 victory in 1996, Glass and Windass scoring, was run of the mill, but the matches either side of that remain memorable for entirely different reasons.
Aberdeen’s greatest made final bow against Queen’s Park
On August 21, 1990, Willie Miller pulled on the famous number six shirt for what would be the last of his record-breaking 796 appearances for the club.
Having suffered a serious knee injury for Scotland against Norway the previous November, Miller had battled back in a bid to extend his remarkable career, but he realised that late summer evening he had reached the end – and announced his retirement soon after.
Given the many trophies he had lifted at Hampden Park, it was perhaps fitting his final outing came at the national stadium.
Upset of 2006 was painful night
The other encounter between the clubs, the most recent one in 2006, was also played in Glasgow – but at Firhill – and it was as painful a night as I have experienced in my broadcasting career.
I was doing the commentary that night, and given it was a strong Aberdeen line-up, featuring the likes of Russell Anderson and Andrew Considine, Stevie Crawford, Chris Clark and Barry Nicholson, the Dons were odds-on favourites to win the cup-tie.
It had never crossed my mind I would be describing a major shock to the nation, and Aberdeen were well on top for much of the game, but chances were missed, and as the minutes ticked away, the realisation began to hit home.
Extra-time came and went, Darren Mackie missed the first penalty in the shoot-out, and Queen’s Park netted all five of theirs, Alan Trouten – who has never let me forget the moment – converting the decider.
Incredibly, the evergreen midfielder is still playing, and still scoring, but that evening was surely the highlight of his career.
That was one of a succession of cup upsets suffered by the Dons, following on from Stenhousemuir in 1995 and preceding Queen of the South (2008), Raith Rovers (2010 and 2021), and, of course, Darvel, but I would not anticipate the list being added to this weekend.
I cannot see Jimmy Thelin’s Dons being on end of Queen’s Park shock this time
Callum Davidson’s team have made a decent start to the campaign, and scored plenty goals during their group matches, but they lost 5-1 to Hibernian along the way, and given how Aberdeen have begun, I cannot see a shock unfolding at Pittodrie.
Jimmy Thelin might make a few changes, but will be well aware of the importance of this game, and he will still field a strong side.
With confidence high right now, whoever he chooses should be good enough to get the job done.
Aberdeen clash is what Cove Rangers’ Blair Yule deserves
As part of the committee, it was excellent news last week when we got confirmation that Aberdeen are to provide the opposition for Cove Rangers midfielder Blair Yule’s testimonial match at the start of next month.
The popular Yule has given superb service to Cove over the past decade or so, and is exactly the sort of player who deserves such an accolade.
Having contributed hugely to the club’s successes over the years, Blair has also had to overcome some serious injury problems, but continues to give his all for the team.
Despite their busy fixture calendar, the Dons were happy to help, and we are grateful for their support.
Given the sides have met only rarely over the years, I would hope Blair gets a big crowd on the night, which would be a fitting tribute to a great guy.
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