in the League Cup

Aberdeen v St Johnstone

Aberdeen will go in their semi final against St Johnstone knowing that they have never lost to the Perth side . The sides have never clashed at a neutral venue before and Aberdeen have won 9 of the 10 previous clashes.

The first occasion the sides met was in a group game back in 1964; Aberdeen went on to win 2-1 with Ernie Winchester among the goals. St Johnstone came to defend but almost snatched a draw in the final minutes as Ogston pulled off a great save from Flanagan. In the return at Muirton Park a physical game ended in a draw. Smith levelled in the second half in a game that saw three players booked in a game that meant little for either side in terms of qualification.

Two years later Aberdeen won at both Pittodrie and Muirton as the Dons cruised through their group section. Aberdeen opened their season with a comfortable 3-0 win although the game was over shadowed by the news of Dave Smith’s transfer to Rangers.

In 1970 Aberdeen won 2-1 at Pittodrie in a game they dominated with keeper Bobby Clark not making a save until an hour into the tie. His opponent in goal Jim Donaldson however kept Aberdeen at bay with a string of superb saves. Jim Forrest scored the only goal of the game in the return as Aberdeen deployed their famous ‘offside trap’ much to the dismay of the home support.

It was not until 1983 when the sides clashed again and Aberdeen were by that time ECWC champions. Once again Aberdeen won both ties with single goal victories.

When the competition changed to a straight knockout format, Aberdeen met St Johnstone in 1985 and again in 1987 and won both ties in convincing fashion. It is interesting to note that all of the Dons previous away ties with St Johnstone were played at their old Muirton Park ground in Perth.

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