DONS RECORD
Aberdeen will welcome Partick Thistle to Pittodrie on Sunday for only the third ever fixture between the sides in the Scottish Cup to be played at The Dons home ground. And the last fixture at Pittodrie was in 1947. On the last four occasions the clubs have clashed in the Scottish Cup, all ties have been played at Firhill. Certainly the Glasgow ground has been a happy hunting ground for the Dons with Aberdeen winning all four ties stretching back to 1980.

COOPER TO RESCUE
Arguably the most important was the Pittodrie clash in 1947. At that time Partick were a top side along with the likes of Aberdeen who had emerged from the war as a side of real quality. With the Dons being very successful in the hastily arranged wartime league and cups, a first Scottish Cup win was the Aberdeen target. Visitors Partick were among the favourites that season and as the Pittodrie tie looked to be heading for a draw with the game tied at 1-1 there was a sting in the tail in the closing minutes.

Aberdeen had taken the lead after 30 minutes through McCall and despite holding the upper hand for long spells they were stunned when Mathie equalised in 66 minutes. Aberdeen were facing a replay at a venue where they were beaten 4-0 earlier in the month until Dons defender Willie Cooper scored with a sensational shot from all of 30 yards that flew into the top corner of the net to put Aberdeen through. Ray Botha made his debut for the Dons that day as Aberdeen were gaining the tag of cup experts back then. Cooper had been a stalwart for Aberdeen for two decades and his goal set Aberdeen on their way in the cup that was to lead to a first Scottish Cup success that season. Ironically Cooper missed the final through injury after playing in all previous ties.

YORSTON SHINES
Benny Yorston was a prolific scorer for Aberdeen in the late 1920’s. Discovered while on the Dons tour of South Africa in 1927, Yorston’s career with Aberdeen was to end prematurely due to him being implicated in the ‘Great Mystery’ of 1931.

In 1930 Partick recorded their one and only win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. A big crowd at Firhill were on hand to see a real thrilling tie. Despite two gaols from Yorston the Black & Gold of Aberdeen went down 3-2 in a game that was controversial with some refereeing decisions going against the visitors.

A year later the sides were paired again, this time at Pittodrie. Sever weather conditions made for a poor game and it was the visitors that took all the plaudits in a 1-1 draw. Thistle had to battle on with ten men for most of the tie after Pope was injured after only five minutes. Aberdeen were annoyed at the officials for not allowing a Love effort stand as Jackson the keeper pulled the ball back when it was clearly over the line. Aberdeen did enjoy most of the possession but went behind at the start of the second half when Ness scored. Five minutes later Benny Yorston equalised. The replay at Firhill saw one of the best performances from Aberdeen that season. Thistle were favourites to progress due to their battling display at Pittodrie but Aberdeen showed their class with top scorer Yorston again amongst the goals. The 3-0 win was as comfortable as the score suggested.

THAT’S FINAL FOR FLEMING
Partick manager Bertie Auld said it couldn’t happen; by a strange fixture scheduling the Dons were down to play Thistle three times in eight days. Auld was convinced Aberdeen would not beat his team three times in a week.

Aberdeen manager Billy McNeill had other ideas and declared that his side would have to win all three matches to keep their league and cup double dream going.

After two Premier League wins at Pittodrie and Firhill, the final match was their Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden. Thistle must have been sick of the sight of the Dons as Aberdeen swept to the cup final after a 4-2 win. Ian Fleming was the Aberdeen hero that night with a well taken hat trick. McNeill had changed his team around with the teams meeting for the third occasion in succession and it worked a treat.

Aberdeen used the wide open spaces of Hampden to their advantage and never looked in trouble at any stage. A Joe Harper penalty was sandwiched in between Fleming’s goals and a late Jim Melrose goal for Thistle had no bearing on the final outcome.

Manager McNeill was delighted; “To come through these three games with three wins is a great reflection on this squad who showed me tonight a clinical edge that really augurs well for the rest of the season. We will have the Final to look forward to and it promises to be a great finish to the season.”  

FIRHILL THRILLS
Aberdeen travelled to Firhill on the back of a frustrating 1-1 draw against Thistle in the league at Pittodrie. The Dons away form that season was impressive and that trend continued with progress being made in the Scottish Cup as the Dons reached their third Scottish Cup semi-final in a row.

The winter period had left Aberdeen with a fixture backlog and they were chasing down what appeared to be an unassailable Celtic lead in the Premier League. Progress had been made in the Scottish Cup and Partick offered stern resistance on their own ground.

The Dons took control of the tie early on and created the better openings. Goals from Drew Jarvie and Steve Archibald put the Dons through despite a late consolation from McAdam. Ferguson was delighted to reach the last four; “We showed enough in the first half to gain control and we played at a pace which was pleasing. I thought we defended well when we had to as Thistle can be dangerous down here. The fixtures are piling up so the next few weeks will be a test for us.”     

WEIR MAGIC
In 1983 Aberdeen were going for a treble of Premier League, Scottish Cup and European Cup Winners Cup. A tough away quarter final tie at Firhill was seen as a tough obstacle for the Dons whose fixture schedule was beginning to stretch the Aberdeen squad to the limit. The Dons were due to face Bayern Munich in the ECWC quarter final return leg at Pittodrie in midweek and manager Ferguson admitted it would be hard to concentrate fully on the task in hand. The Dons wasted no time in taking control and they stunned the volatile home support by taking the lead after four minutes.

A Peter Weir corner found Cooper unmarked in the penalty area and the Dons midfielder fired a low shot that went through three Thistle defenders before finding the net. The large travelling support made their presence felt as the home side were stunned by the ferocity of the Aberdeen pace and power in midfield and in attack. Young Maurice Johnston was an emerging talent with Thistle but he was well policed by the experienced Aberdeen defence who had stood up against far more formidable opponents at home and in Europe. Thistle resorted to some hefty challenges in an attempt to unsettle the Dons and both Whittaker and Doyle were booked. Peter Weir and Mark McGhee both went close as Aberdeen increased the pressure on the home side.

Alex McLeish went through Park with a fierce challenge as Aberdeen responded to the Thistle physical threat which earned the Dons defender a yellow card. Doug Rougvie should have scored a second for the Dons just before the break but his close range header was instinctively saved by McNab. Thistle came back into the tie in the second half as they tried to get back into the tie and they were rewarded in 63 minutes when McDonald fired the ball past Leighton from close range. Aberdeen showed their battling qualities in response to the home side continuing to be robust in their approach. In 72 minutes the tie was decided after Murray was booked for a crude challenge on Simpson on the edge of the box. Thistle were made to pay as Peter Weir stepped up to send a beautiful free kick into the top corner. The bonus for Aberdeen was the return of Gordon Strachan from injury with a view to the midfielder getting valuable game time ahead of the tie against Bayern.  

WILLEM 3
Without the injured Hans Gillhaus the Dons were expecting a tough tie against Thistle at Firhill in 1990.

However the Dons Dutch influence continued with the towering Willem Van Der ark scoring a hat trick in a convincing win for the Dons. Twice Partick took the lead, first when rookie keeper Michael watt spilled a shot then a Charnley penalty after Irvine had fouled Campbell in the box.

The Dons responded in style. Goals either side of halt time put Aberdeen ahead and by the time Van Der Ark scored his third in 89 minutes the Dons were cruising through to a home tie against Morton.

Paul Mason and Brian Grant were also among the goals in what turned out to be a rout for Aberdeen who were challenging for a domestic cup double having already won the League Cup earlier that season.  

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CONSIDINE THE HERO
The last occasion the sides met was again at Firhill in 2013. Jonny Hayes was injured so Greg Wylde came into the side with Calvin Zola starting up front. It was Andrew Considine who opened the scoring in the fourth minute.

The Dons defender timed his run to perfection as he headed a Barry Robson corner past Scott Fox in the Partick goal. Peter Pawlett was a constant danger to the home defence and he was unlucky not to get a penalty when he was brought down in the box after 15 minutes.

Pawlett was again in action with a fierce shot that was well saved by Fox. Wylde then had a great chance in 32 minutes when he burst into the box and brought out another save from the Thistle keeper. Partick did have their moments but Aberdeen remained in control but with only a single goal lead they had to keep Thistle at bay.

In the final minute the Dons broke and Niall McGinn was unlucky to see his shot come back off the post. In a frantic closing spell former Don Osbourne had a great chance to take the tie to a replay but Considine was on hand to block his effort. 

Aberdeen v Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup
 

Date	Result	Rnd	Venue	Scorers	Attendance
15.2.1930	Partick 3:2 Aberdeen	3	Firhill	B Yorston 2	38,568
31.1.1931	Aberdeen 1:1 Partick	2	Pittodrie	B Yorston	15,053
4.2.1931	Partick 0:3 Aberdeen	2R	Firhill	B Yorston 2, McMillan	29,208
25.1.1947	Aberdeen 2:1 Partick	1	Pittodrie	McCall, Cooper	34,303
12.4.1978	Aberdeen 4:2 Partick	S/F	Hampden	Fleming 3, Harper	12,282
8.3.1980	Partick 1:2 Aberdeen	5	Firhill	Jarvie, Archibald	8,584
12.3.1983	Partick 1:2 Aberdeen	5	Firhill	Cooper, Weir	12,444
20.1.1990	Partick 2:6 Aberdeen	3	Firhill	Van Der Ark 3, Grant, Mason, OG	11,875
1.12.2013	Partick 0:1 Aberdeen	4	Firhill	Considine	3,642

 

RECORD	P	W	D	L	F	A
Pittodrie	2	1	1	0	3	2
Firhill	6	5	0	1	16	7
Neutral	1	1	0	0	4	2
Total	9	7	1	1	23	11

The only tie Aberdeen have lost was way back in 1930 when the sides first met in this competition. Thistle that season reached the final but lost a replay to Rangers. The only time Partick have won the Scottish Cup was in 1921. On three occasions the Dons have beaten the Glasgow side on route to winning the cup (47, 83 and 90). Therefore, it means that out of the eight ties that have been played (there was a replay in 1931), on five occasions one the sides has gone on and reached the final itself. That figure would have been as high as six if Aberdeen had beaten St Johnstone in the 2014 semi-final. In 1980 Aberdeen lost in a semi-final to Rangers and in 1931 lost in the fourth round to Celtic after beating Thistle earlier in the competition.