Aberdeen v Dundee – the history

summary

Originally one of the oldest biggest fixtures in Scottish Football Calendar, it was also one of the main derby matches.

By tradition, the Aberdeen v Dundee fixture was always the one that grabbed the attention long before the inception of the Premier League in 1975. Dundee were regular visitors to Aberdeen even before 1903 and it is well documented that the Dens Park club openly backed and supported Aberdeen's bid to become members of the Scottish League after the amalgamation in 1903.

Dundee lobbied the powers that be back then in support of Aberdeen as they described “The last outpost in Scotland with a large population base without senior football”. Aberdeen did go on to gain admission to the First Division in 1905 in the days before any form of promotion or relegation. It was up to member clubs whether or not to allow clubs entry to the elite division in Scotland.

The 'North East' derby between the two sides can be traced back as far as the Dons' formation in 1903, many years before city rivals Dundee United came into being. It was really only Dundee's relegation in 1976 that brought United into the picture as Aberdeen and, then latterly, United flourished in the new Premier League set up.

The first meeting between the sides in the league was not a day to remember for Aberdeen as they lost 6-0 at Dens Park on 18th November 1905. That day was later called “Black Saturday” by the Aberdeen support and local press as the reserves were also heavily beaten at Pittodrie on the same day.

It took the Dons nine attempts to record their first win, which came in a Scottish Cup second round second replay in 1908 as the Dons won 3-1 at neutral Hamden Park. The first league win didn’t come until April 1910 at Pittodrie when the score was again 3-1.

The biggest win came on New Year’s Day 1932 when Aberdeen greeted their first foot’s with a 6-1 win at Pittodrie. It was revenge for that first ever meeting, although Dundee repeated the feat in a League Cup qualifying tie in September 1960.

The first ever Premier League game between Aberdeen and Dundee was at Dens Park on 30th August 1975 as the new 10-team set up began with Dundee edging Aberdeen out in a 3-2 win. Bobby Ford of Dundee had the distinction of scoring the first ever goal in the Premier League after two minutes.

Of the 251 matches played, only 28 have failed to produce a goal. Top Dons scorers against Dundee are Benny Yorston and ex-Dundee man Gordon Strachan. Both have netted 11 times, although 10 of Yorston’s goals came in the league. Top current player is Niall McGinn with seven. Dundee have managed to find their own net on 13 occasions.

Although Dundee’s last win against the Dons in the League (not including the cup) was over 4,050 days ago, a good number of the games in that time have ended in a draw. Including three of the matches last season. Aberdeen have won 47% of their league matches against the Dens Park side.

complete league record
 

Home
Opponent	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD
Dundee	102	55	31	16	179	99	80
Away
Opponent	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD
Dundee	102	42	35	25	163	131	32
All
Opponent	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD
Dundee	204	97	66	41	342	230	112

the early years

The one city one, one club status that Aberdeen have enjoyed through the years may never have come to reality had it not been for the three-club amalgamation in April 1903 that saw the present Aberdeen FC come into being. Previously the clashes between the original Aberdeen, Orion and Victoria United had all the meaty ingredients that you would expect from a local derby. The major factor in the new Aberdeen club being formed was the realisation that had they not, and then entry into the mainstream of Scottish football may never have happened.

Due to the remote geographical location, Aberdeen were told by the Scottish league that a combined effort from the best local sides would be required to maintain a place in top flight of the game. It is ironic that one of the main supporters behind the Aberdeen cause was indeed Dundee. The Tayside club had long been rivals with various Aberdeen sides through the years but they were very much in support of Aberdeen being admitted into the top league. The following extract from the ‘Dundee Post’ on 21st Feb 1903 confirmed their stance;

“The question of amalgamating the three city clubs has been agitating the minds of the football public in Aberdeen. It is likely that Aberdeen will be included as a league member next season. The Aberdeen committee has been soliciting support from other member clubs and Dundee were the first to pledge their support. The Dundee club agreed that a strong Aberdeen club would benefit the game in Scotland and publicly backed the Aberdeen claims.”

It was on the back of that support that Aberdeen did eventually gain admission into the league initially in 1903 and their entry into the First Division two years later. Prior to that Aberdeen had forged a keen rivalry with Dundee and the Dens Park side were frequent visitors to the north east long before the first competitive clash in 1905. Indeed only three weeks after Aberdeen FC were formed on 14th April 1903, Dundee travelled north to play what was described as an Aberdeen XI on 4th May 1903. The Aberdeen side was ‘picked from the three local senior teams; Aberdeen, Orion and Victoria”. The report at the time suggested that traditional holiday fixtures were not the most keenly anticipated but that was certainly not the case when Dundee travelled north due to “Dundee’s friendly attitude towards the aspirations of the Aberdonians in seeking admission for an amalgamated team in the First Division of the Scottish league.” Even with the new Aberdeen club now into being, this was their first ‘combined’ outing as such and it was fitting that Dundee were their first opponents.

Aberdeen certainly turned the occasion into a gala day with the Oakbank Pipe band welcoming the teams onto the field. Despite the heavy rain a crowd of 3,000 turned out to see Aberdeen eventually go down 4-1 to an experienced Dundee side that played their entire first team.  Charlie Mackie scored the Aberdeen goal after 10 minutes as the “First Leaguers failed to rise above the Aberdeen standard” in the opening part of the game as Aberdeen held on to their lead by half time. Dundee changed their approach in the second period and dominated the home side for long spells and ran out comfortable winners.  The teams on that historic day were;

ABERDEEN; Ritchie, Walker, McHardy, Willox, A Murray, Robertson, Knowles, C Mackie, Lindsay, Henderson, Hogg.
DUNDEE; Muir, Darroch, Sharp, Halkett, P Robertson, McDiarmid, Bell, White, Wilson, McFarlane, T Robertson.

When Aberdeen were finally admitted into the top flight of the Scottish game in 1905, the first “Northern Derby” took place at Dens Park on 18th November.

With both teams sharing almost identical records going into the game, not many observers would have predicted what became known as “Dons Day of Disaster” as they were hammered 6-0 by Dundee. The game had been very much anticipated by the Aberdeen support and one Caldedonian train had the engine ‘dressed’ in black and gold along with two North British special trains carrying more than 1200 Aberdeen supporters to the game; at the princely sum of three shillings (15p) a head. No doubt the shock of such a heavy defeat was a huge blow to what was only Aberdeen’s first season in the top league. It might have been different had the visitors not had to play for 80 minutes with ten men after Alex Halkett limped off injured in the opening minutes. Aberdeen used Gault in a withdrawn role which exposed right back Boyle to Dundee’s quicker forwards. It also emerged later that Aberdeen travelled without rubber studs and they were far from prepared for the frost bound pitch that greeted them on arrival. There was no respite for the Aberdeen team that day as they arrived back at Aberdeen Joint Station to a hostile reception from some of their support. The teams on that eventful day were;

DUNDEE; Muir, McKenzie, Jeffray, Henderson, Dainty, McDiarmid, Bell, MacFarlane, Webb, McLuckie, Fraser.
ABERDEEN; Macfarlane, Boyle, Gault, Halkett, Strang, Low, Robertson, Edgar, Ward, MacAulay, Lennie.

Aberdeen had to wait until 1912 before recording their first league win at Dens Park. On 24th August the Black & Golds were flying high in a 3-0 win before a huge 20,000 crowd at Dens. William Milne, making his first team debut for Aberdeen scored both goals for the visitors.

The Aberdeen v Dundee traditions continued throughout both world wars and through to what proved to be a watershed moment in Scottish football with reconstruction in 1975. Until that point the Dons traditional derby had always been against the Dens Park side with the traditional New Year Derby being played at Pittodrie and Dens Park on alternate years as both sides became well known “First Foots” to bring in the New Year. It is significant that in the first season of the top ten in 1975.76 any one of three clubs could have joined already doomed St Johnstone to relegation as Aberdeen, Dundee and Dundee Utd went into the final game knowing that defeat could have been certain relegation. As it turned out it was Dundee who took the drop and the traditional ‘Northern Derby’ would make way for the ‘New Firm’.      

the post war years

There was a time when Dundee could attract a top Aberdeen player to Dens Park in what was seen at the time as progression.

The transfer of Aberdeen wonder boy Charlie Cooke in 1965 was perhaps a hammer blow for the Dons but back then Dundee were a top side. Aberdeen had slumped to mid table mediocrity while the Dens Park side were league champions in 1962 and had also reached the semi-final of the European Cup a year later. While Aberdeen still looked upon the advantage of being a one-club city, they had reached a low point in their history with a succession of cup failures and struggling to make an impact in the league. Dundee for their part dominated the support on Tayside with neighbours United far removed from the status they now hold in Dundee.

The fact that the Dens Park club were the prominent side in Dundee, it was often reflected in some of the classic matches between the Dons and Dundee in what was always the traditional North east derby fixture. The traditional New Year clashes began in 1952 and continued through until Dundee were relegated from the first Premier League in 1975. That first meeting at Dens Park on 1st January 1952 resulted in a 3-2 win for the Dark Blues as an injury hit Aberdeen held out for long periods but eventually went down to a strong Dundee side. A year later a much-anticipated visit from Dundee saw tempers flare as Aberdeen controversially clawed back a two-goal deficit. The reports of ‘over-robust tackling’ were spot on as a bruising encounter saw Aberdeen fall behind to a Bobby Flavell brace. Ian Rodger pulled one back for the Dons in 64 minutes before Harry Yorston’s equaliser in 74 minutes produced a raised flag by the linesman which was ignored by referee Jackson much to the disgust of the visitors.

In 1954 when the teams met, it was unusually a top of the table clash at Dens Park. The game went in favour of Dundee after an injury to Jackie Allister. Eventually the Dons went down to the sublime skills of Billy Steel who went on to enjoy success in England despite an Aberdeen record bid to take the Scottish international to Pittodrie. When Aberdeen won the championship in 1955 they recorded an impressive double over Dundee. At Dens Park in September 1954 goals from Archie Glen and Joe O’Neil gave Aberdeen a deserved win. Later that season a Bob Wishart goal was enough to give Aberdeen victory as they remained clear at the top of the league. In 1955.56 the Dons did the double again over Dundee with a 2-0 win at Pittodrie followed by an impressive 4-2 win at Dens in the New Year. Aberdeen were in free scoring form back then as they racked up an incredible 24 goals from four league matches over the New Year period.

In 1958 despite Aberdeen falling from grace in the league, they won both matches against the Dark Blues. Norman Davidson scored twice in a 3-0 at Pittodrie while two late goals in the Dens Park return gave the Dons a 2-1 victory on 1st January 1958.

In season 1960.61 the Dons held Dundee at Dens in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Although Alan Gilzean hit a hat trick for Dundee, a late Billy Little goal gave Aberdeen a point. In the return at Pittodrie the Dons won 2-1 in what was a significant result. Aberdeen under Tom Pearson were a young side and were surprising league title contenders. Pittodrie’s highest attendance of the season saw George Mulhall score the winner for the Dons. After the match Aberdeen stalwart Bob Wishart was transferred to Dundee. It was all change as Dundee had evolved into a side of great stature and Bob Wishart went to win a title medal with the Dens Park side. While Aberdeen beat Dundee in their championship season with a 3-1 win at Pittodrie in September, it was soon to change as by the time Aberdeen returned for the winter game at Dens, Dundee were runaway league leaders and edged Aberdeen out in a 2-1 win. In September 1962 Dundee hammered Cologne 8-1 in the European Cup in what was regarded as the finest side ever to grace Dens Park. However three days later they could not get the better of visitors

Aberdeen whose Charlie Cooke scored an exquisite lob as reports suggested his goal was ‘one in a million’. In the return at Pittodrie, Bob Wishart was on his old stamping ground in the dark blue of Dundee but he could not prevent Aberdeen going on to win through an Ernie Winchester goal.

Charlie Cooke was included in the Dundee side that were held by Aberdeen in a 1-1 draw in January 1965, much to the dismay of the dwindling Aberdeen support in the poor 8,000 New Year crowd. It was not until the arrival of Eddie Turnbull at Pittodrie that saw the Dons resurgence and that was reflected in games against their old rivals. In January 1967 Aberdeen hit Dundee in a 5-2 win that heralded the Dons as a side of real quality, as they held on to second place behind leaders Celtic with European football now on the horizon for the Dons for the first time. 

Aberdeen, Dundee connections

A fascinating facet of the Dundee connection is the inarguable fact that an impressive number of players have turned out for both Aberdeen and Dundee. At least 44 players have achieved this and we have also shared one manager with another three at the Pittodrie helm who had played for Dundee. The list includes Bobby Ancell (Wartime), Ian Angus, Robert Connor, Charlie Cooke, Billy Dodds, Andy Dow, Willie Falconer, Jamie Langfield, Steve Lovell, Walker McCall, Stewart McKimmie, Jock Pattillo, Gavin Rae Jocky Scott, Gordon Strachan, Stan Williams, Jimmy Wilson, Bobby Wishart, Jim Leighton and more recently Nicky Low, amongst others.

The four managers that Dens Park produced for the Dons were David Halliday, followed by Jimmy Bonthrone and Jocky Scott, all of whom tasted some measure of success in the Granite City. Drew Jarvie also served both clubs in a management team with Jocky. Now, of course, we have Craig Brown running the Pittodrie side and he was a player at Dens when Dundee won the League title in 1961-62.

Halliday, who scored 100 goals for Dundee in four seasons, took up his Pittodrie post in 1938 but really counts as a post-war hero. He was the first manager to bring major silverware to Aberdeen, starting with the Southern League Cup (which we all know was the first League Cup) on 11th May 1946. His Dons followed up with the Scottish Cup in 1947 and took their first League Championship in 1954/55 coupled with a further League Cup success in October 1954. Halliday’s Aberdeen teams were the strongest and most successful that the Club was able to field before the Fergie era in the 1980s.

Jimmy Bonthrone started out his Pittodrie career as coach under Eddie Turnbull and took over the managerial mantle when Eddie moved on to Eater Road to manage Hibernian. Jimmy’s finest hour as boss came early, with the Dons beating Celtic at Pittodrie in a memorable Drybrough Cup final. Sadly things deteriorated gradually from there despite a tremendous League campaign in 71/72 and Jimmy stood down in 1975.

Perhaps the most memorable cross-over has been that of Jocky Scott, who was a terrific player for Dundee before being transferred to Aberdeen in the summer of 1975. He went on to play in 67 matches, scoring 22 goals, three of which came in the famous League Cup 5-1 hammering of Rangers in October 1976. Of course that match brought Jocky and the Dons to success in the Final that season so he picked up his first of three medals with Aberdeen that day. After his playing career came to an end, Jocky managed Dundee from 1986 to 1988 when he moved to Pittodrie along with Drew Jarvie to join Alex Smith in a co-managerial arrangement. The trio worked some magic and in 1989/90 Aberdeen won a memorable Cup double defeating Rangers 2-1 in the League Cup Final and Celtic in the Cup. After the Dons missed out on the League title on the last day of the 1990/91 season, Jocky decided to move on once more and took on the reins at Dunfermline. Later, though he had a second spell at Dens Park from 1998 to 2000 and more recently a third spell between 2008 and 2010. He then returned to Pittodrie and formed part of Craig Brown's coaching side for a short while.