Following Wednesday’s thrilling 2-1 Premiership win over Rangers, Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie said “absolutely rocking” Pittodrie delivered the best atmosphere of his two spells at the club.
Given (if you will forgive the seasonal references) how the Pittodrie cauldron had been bubbling up to the boil in recent home matches, the scene had been set for the Red Army to deliver an all-timer atmosphere during the clash with their fiercest rivals.
An “all-timer”, to me at least, means the magic of a match like Aberdeen 4 FC Copenhagen 0 in 2007.
The pre-Halloween portents were right, though… Aberdeen v Rangers – the Dons moving nine points clear of their visitors on a dramatic night – was an atmosphere to equal it.
Pyro and Pittodrie howl helped Aberdeen put Rangers on back foot
The Gers clash was Aberdeen’s third consecutive home sell-out, following the wins over Hearts and Dundee United – and their second in succession with an official attendance of 19,274.
Across six home league fixtures this term so far – all Reds wins, and part of Jimmy Thelin’s now-16-game unbeaten start as manager – the average Pittodrie attendance has sat (no – stood!) at around 18,000.
Pittodrie is a place supporters want to be right now.
Thelin and his team, the club’s hierarchy and the fans all deserve huge credit for the sheer power around the place at present.
Before the teams had come out on Wednesday, there was a striking display of pyro and ferocious chanting from the Ultras Aberdeen-led Red Shed – who have been providing consistent, exuberant backing for the past few seasons.
When the sides did emerge into a bedlam of cheers and singing, it was to the backdrop of an on-pitch fireworks display, and a Richard Donald Stand tifo reading, simply, “Aberdeen”.
Those bits of official pre-match pageantry were, presumably, the handiwork of Aberdeen’s supporter experience manager Stephen McCormick and the volunteers involved in the Fans Project fund at the club (who have also arranged displays for boss Thelin and Dons legend Neil Simpson in recent months).
Once Aberdeen v Rangers actually kicked off, and with Thelin’s on-form team – and their fans – clearly smelling blood against Philippe Clement’s under-pressure visitors, the noise around the stadium was less a roar and more a howl every time the Dons got the ball forward.
It had a feverish, high-pitched quality – like a scream, or being out in a hurricane.
And Rangers were clearly rattled by the intensity of their adversaries – not just on the pitch, but the legions in the stands.
The sound levels peaked with Nicky Devlin’s close-range cross-goal slasher for the Reds, and then again after a prolonged VAR review saw referee John Beaton award Aberdeen a penalty to likely go 2-0 in front.
Aberdeen fans know what Thelin’s men are trying to do – and will back them to the death
When Jamie McGrath’s timid spot-kick was saved, though, Thelin’s side seized up slightly, and for the first time, you could also feel a creeping, gnawing fear in the home sections.
This tension around the ground was understandable. The Dons, who were far superior in the opening period and should’ve been out of sight, found themselves pegged back to 1-1 and in the face of an improved Rangers performance.
However, it is not just the size of the Aberdeen home support which has been notable this season.
Against Rangers – like in the Hearts and United clashes – the Dons supporters didn’t get on their side’s backs. They stuck with them.
They had helped their team turn the screw against the Jambos, where late pressure eventually told and Ante Palaversa was on hand to hammer the ball high into the net for a 3-2 win.
Then, with the scoreline locked at 0-0 late on against Dundee United on Saturday – another evening game where the atmosphere was intense enough to pack a punch even through the TV coverage – the Red Army stayed the course with their team, trying to suck the ball into the net. And were eventually rewarded with Peter Ambrose’s 84th-minute close-range finish.
Even when it is tense, there is enthusiastic and patient belief around Pittodrie just now.
Patience was one of boss Thelin’s key asks of supporters when he arrived from Elfsborg in the summer with the mission to bring success back to Aberdeen.
It is, of course, easier for fans to say they’ll be patient, than actually be it.
But what has helped engender fans’ backing of Thelin’s side for the full 90 minutes (even in the moments where things have gone slightly awry) is not just the near-flawless opening streak of results, but shared faith in a clear and consistent style of play.
At all times, fans know what their team are trying to do – in attack, they are going to go hell for leather, commit bodies forward and try to score goals. And they will keep doing it. And the supporters will encourage them, even into time added on if needs be, with ever-increasing fervour.
Once again, against Rangers, Aberdeen fans were rewarded for their enduring backing when penalty box carnage ended with Dons resurrection man Shayden Morris hammering home in the 74th minute to secure all three points.
The next time Aberdeen play at home is a Saturday, November 9, meeting with Dundee – kicking-off at the popular later time of 5.30pm – before visits from Celtic, St Johnstone and Hibs in December.
Who would want to be a side facing the horror of visiting Pittodrie at the moment?
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