Aberdeen will play Ayr in the League Cup for the ninth time on Wednesday night. So far the Dons have yet to taste defeat and touchwood, that will be a record that continues this season.

The clubs met a number of times in the old Qualifying Sections – similar to what they have gone back to this year but the ties were played at both home and away grounds.

On two occasions the Dons have gone on the win the cup after knocking out the Ayrshire club.

The last time the sides met was in 2008 and Chris Maguire was on target to help Aberdeen narrowly get through to the third-round of the Co-operative Insurance Cup at the expense of a tough Ayr side.

Maguire gave the Dons the lead after 40 minutes at Somerset Park. Defender Charlie Mulgrew sent in a superb pass to Maguire, and with the Ayr defence appealing for offside, Maguire slid the ball into the net.  The home side pushed hard for an equaliser during most of the second half but Aberdeen held on for victory.

For the record the Aberdeen team that night was:

Aberdeen: Bossu, Foster, Mulgrew, Considine, Mair, Jamie Smith, Kerr, McDonald, Young, Maguire (Wright 77), Mackie (De Visscher 81). Subs Not Used: Langfield, Duff, Paton.

Full Record                                        

Played 8 Win 5 Draw 3 Lose 0 For 19 Against 9    

Sat 13-Aug-60 League Cup 1960-61 v Ayr United Home QS (14,000) W 4-3
Sat 27-Aug-60 League Cup 1960-61 v Ayr United Away QS (4,000) D 1-1
Sat 21-Aug-76 League Cup 1976-77 v Ayr United Home QS (9,695) W 1-0    
Sat 28-Aug-76 League Cup 1976-77 v Ayr United Away QS (4,800) D 1-1    
Wed 08-Nov-78 League Cup 1978-79 v Ayr United Away QF1 (6,300) D 3-3    
Wed 15-Nov-78 League Cup 1978-79 v Ayr United Home QF2 (13,000) W 3-1
Wed 21-Aug-85 League Cup 1985-86 v Ayr United Home 2R (12,388) W 5-0
Wed 27-Aug-08 League Cup 2008-09 v Ayr United Away 2R (2,979) W 1-0

                                       
Club Connections

There are a number of players who down the years have played for both clubs including former Scotland Internationalist Bobby Connor who will be summarised on RedTV on Wednesday night and most recently Michael Rose who moved to Somerset Park this summer. However, the one figure who will also link the clubs is Ally MacLeod.

As a player MacLeod was with Third Lanark, Blackburn Rovers and Hibernian before a move to Ayr as player/coach. MacLeod’s highlight from his playing days was a Wembley appearance for Blackburn against Wolves in the 1960 FA Cup Final.  

He started his managerial career in 1966 when he took charge of Ayr United and took them into the top division as well as a Scottish and a League Cup semi-final.

Ally joined Aberdeen in November 1975 from Ayr Utd after Jim Bonthrone resigned as manager of Aberdeen. In what was the first ever season of the 10-team Premier League, McLeod took over at Pittodrie when Aberdeen were in 9th place.

Despite back-to-back wins over Rangers (first at home for ten years) and Celtic in December 1975, the Dons survival was not secured until the final game of the season against Hibernian at Pittodrie. In the summer of 1976 MacLeod set about turning the Dons fortunes around and he already had brought back Joe Harper in April when he signed Stuart Kennedy from Falkirk and Dom Sullivan from Clyde.

MacLeod had promised the Aberdeen support a trophy within a year and he duly delivered in November 1976 when Aberdeen beat Celtic 2-1 at Hampden to lift the League Cup in what was Willie Millers first trophy as Dons captain.

Following the departure of Willie Ormond from the Scotland job, it MacLeod that was asked by the SFA to take over the national side. Ally MacLeod left Pittodrie in May 1977 to take up his new position. Sadly he presided over a disastrous World Cup campaign in Argentina in 1978 and returned to club management with Motherwell (1979–1981), Airdrie (1984–1985) and a return to Ayr (1986–1989) when he again won the Second Division title.
His last job in football was with Dumfries club Queen of the South

Ally MacLeod died in 2004, aged 72, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Ally was posthumously inducted to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2015 and is someone who will always be remembered as an important part of AFC’s history.

ALLY MacLEOD — Aberdeen FC Record: