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THE HISTORY |

United just held the edge in the SPL meetings, overall it is Aberdeen who have the better record in all previous league matches. In the early days of the Premier League when both clubs were battling it out at the top of the table, it was Aberdeen who won 33 of the 88 Premier meetings, scoring 112 goals. Duncan Shearer had the distinction of scoring the Dons 100th against United in 1994. Aberdeen also had a huge say in United being relegated from the top flight in 1995 after a 2-1 win at Pittodrie in May, with the Dons just avoiding relegation themselves.

Complete League Record

Division One 1905-1974

League	P	W	D	L	F	A
Pittodrie	19	8	6	5	32	17
Tannadice	19	9	4	6	40	33
Total	38	17	10	11	72	50

Premier League 1975-1998

League	P	W	D	L	F	A
Pittodrie	44	19	12	13	60	46
Tannadice	44	14	17	13	52	56
Total	88	33	29	26	112	102

SPL 1999-2013

League	P	W	D	L	F	A
Pittodrie	26	13	4	9	47	35
Tannadice	25	4	9	12	26	40
Total	51	17	13	21	73	75

SPFL 2014-

League	P	W	D	L	F	A
Pittodrie	1	1	0	0	1	0

Overall Record 1905-2014

League	P	W	D	L	F	A
Pittodrie	90	41	22	27	140	98
Tannadice	88	27	30	31	118	129
Total	178	68	52	58	258	227

First Time Out

The first time Aberdeen clashed with Dundee United in the Premier League at Tannadice was on 15th November 1975. It was the first occasion that new Aberdeen boss Ally MacLeod had taken his seat in the Aberdeen dugout. It was all very frantic for the poor crowd of only 4,700 as Aberdeen took the lead after only three minutes when Billy Williamson scored from the penalty spot after Drew Jarvie was brought down in the box. Paul Hegarty levelled after 52 minutes with a header before Aberdeen regained the lead eight minutes later when Jocky Scott scored for the Dons at the second attempt. Later in the game, Jarvie was sent off for poleaxing Rennie before United keeper McAlpine was lucky only to receive a yellow card after he wrestled Jocky Scott down to the ground some 40 yards from his goal. Aberdeen held on with ten men to gain a priceless two points.

Aberdeen; Clark, Hair, Williamson, J Smith, Thomson, Miller, Scott, Robb, Jarvie, McMaster, Graham.

It’s a Fact

Aberdeen’s biggest victory over Dundee United came on 19^th October 1967 in a 6-0 win at Pittodrie. Goals from Dave Johnston (2), Dave Robb, Ian Taylor, Jimmy Smith and Frank Munro consigned United to a record Pittodrie defeat. The new look Aberdeen forward line certainly clicked into gear as they cut through the Dundee United defence almost at will.

In September 1975 Aberdeen centre half Willie Young was incensed at being substituted as the Dons struggled at home against Dundee Utd. The big defender tore off his shirt and threw it at the dugout and he never played for the first team again. Young was later sold to Tottenham for £125,000.

In the New Year clash against Dundee United at Pittodrie in January 1978, both Aberdeen defenders Willie Garner and Bobby Glennie were dropped after breaking a curfew imposed by manager Billy McNeill. It gave Aberdeen the chance to hand a debut to a young Alex McLeish at centre half.

Former Aberdeen striker Billy Dodds, the last Don to score more than 20 goals in a season for the club, was involved in a transfer from Aberdeen that shocked the Scottish game. Although Dodds was the Dons’ top scorer he was allowed to join rivals Dundee United in exchange for Robbie Winters and a handsome £500,000 going to United. It was Aberdeen manager Alex Miller who was behind the deal and one that did not help his long term prospects at Pittodrie.

Top Ten v Dundee Utd

The term ‘New Firm’ originated in the early 1980s (mainly from the Glasgow media) when the success of Aberdeen and Dundee Utd brought a welcome if temporary shift in power in Scottish football away from Glasgow. In the early days of the Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean eras at both Pittodrie and Tannadice there was a determination not just to compete with, but to beat the Old Firm. Aberdeen were to go on and win the Scottish Premier Division three times, the Scottish Cup four times, the Scottish League Cup twice and the European Cup Winners Cup and the European Super Cup, all within the 1980s. In this same period, Dundee United won the Scottish Premier Division once, and the Scottish League Cup twice, as well as reaching the Scottish Cup final four times, the UEFA Cup final, and the European Cup semi-final.

Here are ten classic ‘New Firm’ League encounters from a golden age in history of both clubs:

10 Aberdeen 1:0 Dundee Utd 4^th November 1978

The first Pittodrie clash against United for Ferguson brought a narrow win courtesy of a Joe Harper penalty in the 7^th minute. Harper was flattened by his shadow Paul Hegarty and the Dons record scorer dusted himself down to carry out his customary job from the spot. For a change United had to come out from their defensive shell and the visitors squandered several chances to level, the worst being Ray Stewart’s penalty miss that brought a rousing cheer from the near 15,000 Pittodrie crowd.

9 Dundee Utd 1:3 Aberdeen 25^th August 1979

The pre-match talk was all about United keeper Peter Bonetti, the former England international. By full time it was Aberdeen who grabbed all the headlines after a convincing win at Tannadice. Bonetti looked a pale shadow of the keeper who distinguished himself with Chelsea after he allowed Steve Archibald to rob him of the ball for Harper to score the Dons second. A last minute Sturrock consolation was harsh on the Dons who dominated proceedings throughout.

8 Dundee Utd 1:3 Aberdeen 25^th October 1980

Paul Sturrock opened the scoring after 4 minutes but that only angered Aberdeen who went on to crush their Tayside neighbours. As league champions Aberdeen were the team to beat. While Liverpool managed just that in the European Cup, United had no answer to a slick Aberdeen side that showed they were kingpins in Scotland if not in Europe. The pick of the Dons goals was a sublime effort from Mark McGhee as he left three United defenders trailing.

7 Aberdeen 3:2 Dundee Utd 19^th October 1985

Alex Ferguson was now manager of both Aberdeen and Scotland and he was delighted to see no less than 12 of his squad sprinkled between both sides turn on a great game to showcase the best in Scotland. John Hewitt scored a sensational volley as Aberdeen were now battling on four fronts; The European Champions Cup, the Premier League, the Scottish Cup and League Cup.

6 Dundee Utd 0:3 Aberdeen 3^rd January 1983

United manager Jim McLean vowed revenge after United’s Pittodrie humiliation just over a month previously, but it was the Dons who brought in the New Year with another resounding win over United. Goals from Simpson, Weir and McGhee confirmed the Dons superiority as United lost at Tannadice for the first time since May 1982; when Aberdeen also won. The huge Aberdeen following in the crowd were delighted as the Dons had now scored eight times in three matches against United; who had conceded only six in their other 15 matches.

5 Aberdeen 5:1 Dundee Utd 18^th April 1984

The Dons relentless march to the championship continued with another nap hand against their New Firm rivals. United were simply swept aside in a performance that had manager Ferguson positively purring after watching his side destroy the once-heralded United defence. Doubles from Mark McGhee and Doug Rougvie were supplemented by Eric Black ending his own personal goal drought.

4 Dundee Utd 0:2 Aberdeen 25^th August 1984

Eric Black showed all of his class as one of the best forwards in Europe with both goals as the champions won their third game in succession as they opened up their campaign to retain their Premier crown. This was the Dons 19^th visit to Tannadice in the Premier League and they had only lost four times; Fortress Tannadice it was not.

3 Aberdeen 4:2 Dundee Utd 30^th March 1985

Aberdeen were marching on to retaining their league title for the first time in their history and United were no match for a Dons side that had scored 16 goals in four matches. Pick of the goals was John Hewitt’s second in 43 minutes; an unstoppable screamer that left Billy Thomson rooted to his line. Aberdeen were now just three wins away from the championship with six matches still to play.

2 Dundee Utd 0:2 Aberdeen 26^th November 1983

A vital win for Aberdeen as they set about taking the title from United. The Tannadice side may have been reigning champions after narrowly winning beating the Dons and Celtic by a single point the season before but Aberdeen were determined to reassert their authority on the Scottish game. Strachan’s goal in 74 minutes summed up the Dons stylish approach as Real Madrid registered an interest in signing the Dons midfielder. The win kept Aberdeen at the top of the league; a position they were not to relinquish all season.

1 Aberdeen 5:1 Dundee Utd 6^th November 1982

It is not often prospective league champions are beaten in such fashion but these were no ordinary times. With Aberdeen blazing an historic trail in Europe, United eventually took advantage of the Dons extra games to sneak the title in one of the closest races in Scottish Football history. For example United beat the Dons 2-1 on the Saturday after the famous victory over Bayern Munich. Along the way however the Dons inflicted a proper hammering at Pittodrie. United arrived unbeaten but were unceremoniously dumped by a scintillating display of pace and power from the Dons. The Dons nap hand was completed in 85 minutes when Gordon Strachan’s audacious ‘pass’ deceived McAlpine to complete the rout. Considering how good the United defence was in those days with Narey, Gough, Malpas and Hegarty, this was one of the Dons finest wins of the era.

Ullevi Bus