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Aberdeen v St Mirren in the League Cup

15 November 2020
Author RedMatchday Team

 

Later this month Aberdeen will travel to play St Mirren in the Second Round of the Betfred Cup at St Mirren Park. It is the first ever game between the sides at this venue in this competition. Of course the Dons did play the Paisley side away from home in the Scottish Cup earlier this year. The Red Matchday Team look back at the history between the sides in the League Cup …

 

The Story

On all but two of the occasions that Aberdeen have won the League Cup they have come up against St Mirren along the way; the first exception coming in the 1985 success where Aberdeen won the cup after beating east coast sides in each tie without conceding a single goal. The second time was in 2014 during our last cup victory. The season before, the second last time Aberdeen played St Mirren in this competition, the Saints recorded only their second ever win in 17 ties against the Dons and it was they who went on and won the competition for the first time.

The Dons of course have also defeated St Mirren in the final in 1955; Aberdeen’s first ‘official’ success.

The first occasion the sides clashed was at Love Street in 1947 as Aberdeen opened their season with a win; the only goal coming from South African forward Stan Williams. As beaten finalists the previous year Aberdeen were keen to make an impression in the new cup tournament and they went on to qualify from their group with only one defeat from their six matches. In the Pittodrie return against the Buddies, the Dons won 2-0 with both goals coming from George Hamilton in the first half. Aberdeen went on to lose to East Fife in the semi final.

A year later the teams were paired together again in the same section along with Morton and Third Lanark and the Dons opened with a convincing 3-1 win over St Mirren at Pittodrie with George Hamilton again among the goals. Despite holding St Mirren to a 1-1 draw in the Paisley return Aberdeen were edged out of top place in the group on goal difference by St Mirren. Had Aberdeen taken anything from their last game at Cappielow they would have progressed but with all teams finishing on six points each it was the Paisley side that went through to the latter stages.

For the third season in succession Aberdeen came up against St Mirren in the 1949/50 League Cup campaign. Aberdeen were a team in transition with the last of the 1947 Scottish Cup side struggling to retain their place in the side. In a tough section that also included both Celtic and Rangers, Aberdeen got off to the worst possible start with defeat in Paisley. Although Aberdeen defeated St Mirren at Pittodrie with a Harry Yorston goal they were never near to emerging from a group that was eventually won by Rangers.

The next occasion the side met was in the final in 1955.

Aberdeen went into this cup final as massive favourites, but within ten minutes the Dons knew they were in a game. Saints came out of the blocks fighting as they harried the Aberdeen players into uncharacteristic mistakes and were the first to every ball. It was good fortune for Aberdeen that the Saints attack did not have the same bite as the rest of the team and half-time came without scoring. A slice of luck handed the Dons the lead two minutes after the restart when the unfortunate Mallan converted the ball into his own net. The Dons fans hoped this would settle the team, but St. Mirren were level again on the hour mark when Holmes stooped to head a free kick past Martin. Eleven minutes from the end Graham Leggatt, who had been starved of decent service, picked up a pass from Wilson. The Dons man hit a left footed shot that appeared to catch out the keeper and it flew over his head and into the net. Many described it as a fluke – certainly the media did – but many of his team mates told how Graham would practice shots from out wide at training. Regardless of whether the Dons were fortunate to win the final or not, the trophy went north and the following names were etched into AFC history:

Aberdeen Team: F. Martin, J. Mitchell, D. Caldwell, B. Wilson, J. Clunie, A. Glen, G. Leggat, H. Yorston, P. Buckley, B. Wishart, J. Hather.

 

SUNDAY MAIL OCTOBER 1955

15,000 fans packed out the joint station on Saturday night to cheer the victorious Dons team. When captain Jimmy Mitchell stepped off the train at 11:30 and held the cup aloft, the roar reverberated around the station and could be heard half a mile away. Mitchell and cup were lifted shoulder high by the crowd and police reinforcements were called in to keep control and clear a path to the waiting bus. The crowd chanted for cup winner Leggat, but he had remained in Glasgow with centre half Jim Clunie. The bus took ten minutes to get out of the station before taking the salute of the crowds on Guild Street, Market Street and Union Street. Manager Shaw was amazed by the scenes.

In 1963 Aberdeen were edged out of top place in the group by Hibernian after losing to the Easter Road side in the final group game at Pittodrie. Previously Aberdeen drew 2-2 against St Mirren at Pittodrie who had former Dons centre half Jim Clunie in their side. That draw did not help the Aberdeen cause but they kept themselves in contention with a 3-0 win in the Paisley return. Ernie Winchester was emerging as a real goal threat for Aberdeen back then and his brace helped the Dons to their second win in the section. A year later Aberdeen again came up against St Mirren and on this occasion they were well short of being serious contenders to get out of a group that also contained Rangers and St Johnstone. The Dons were unlucky not to win at Love Street after St Mirren grabbed a late penalty to secure a point in a 3-3 draw. Aberdeen were effectively down to ten men after an early injury to Doug Coutts saw him play the rest of the game as a passenger on the wing. At Pittodrie Aberdeen again threw away a lead when a freak own goal from Winchester rescued the game for the visiting Saints in a 2-2 draw.

It was not until 1976 that Aberdeen again met St Mirren in the competition. In what was the final season of the group stages before the League Cup was overhauled, the group stages not returning until four seasons ago.

The Dons were favourites to progress in a section that also included Ayr United and Kilmarnock. St Mirren were a first Division side back then with a young Alex Ferguson as manager. Two first half goals from Ian Fleming helped Aberdeen to a narrow 3-1 win. Under Ally MacLeod Aberdeen were an emerging side and with the return of ‘King’ Joe Harper to the fold, confidence was high at Pittodrie. In the return game at Pittodrie Aberdeen confirmed their superiority with a 4-0 win with Joe Harper and Billy Williamson sharing the goals. Aberdeen eased to the top of the group as St Mirren ended up with the wooden spoon. The Dons went on to win the League Cup that season after a 5-1 hammering of Rangers in the semi final and a famous 2-1 win over rivals Celtic in the Hampden final.

When the format of the League Cup changed in 1977, the Dons only clashed with the Paisley side on three occasions, before the Group Stages were re-introduced a few years back. All the ties came at Pittodrie, the first of which was a quarter final clash in 1989. Under Alex Smith Aberdeen had proved to be a formidable side and a 3-1 success over St Mirren was also another on the road to Hampden for the Dons. Goals from Jim Bett and Paul Mason helped Aberdeen through to a semi final clash with Celtic. Aberdeen went on to win the cup that season after a thrilling 2-1 win over Rangers.

In August 1995 once again St Mirren stood in the way of Aberdeen making it through to the final. Goals from Scott Booth and Billy Dodds opened the Dons season in style. Aberdeen went on to win the cup that season after a 2-0 win over Dundee in the final at Hampden.

The next time the sides met in this competition St Mirren in 2012 triumphed on 4-2 on penalties to claim a place in the semi-finals. Sam Parkin put Danny Lennon’s team ahead after Jamie Langfield pushed a Steven Thompson header onto the crossbar before a Craig Samson mistake gifted Scott Vernon an equaliser. Kenny McLean put the away side back in front after a Russell Anderson mistake before Josh Magennis equalised deep in to injury time. But St Mirren were successful with four spot-kicks while Stephen Hughes and Cammy Smith failed for the Dons. The Buddies went on to beat Hearts in the final, one of seven winners around that period.

The teams that night were:

Aberdeen: Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Osbourne, Robertson (Smith 82), Hughes, Rae, McGinn, Hayes, Magennis (Naysmith 105), Vernon (Fraser 77).

Unused Subs: Rogers, Clark

St. Mirren: Samson, van Zanten, McAusland, Mair, Dummett, Imrie (Carey 87), Goodwin, McLean, Teale, Parkin (Guy 93), Thompson.

Unused Subs: Smith, Reilly, Barron.

The last time the sides met in this competition was in 2018-19. Aberdeen were on the front foot throughout the first half were rewarded with the opener in the 16th minute thanks mainly to very positive play down the left-hand side from Ferguson. The youngster used speed and strength to hold off the challenge of his opposite number before clipping the ball to the back post for Mackay-Steven to connect on the volley, his strike was accurate and with the aid of a deflection made it’s way into the back of the net.

Just three minutes later the lead was doubled when Mackay-Steven got the better of his man once again and floated the ball into the area for Shinnie to meet, he showed ambition and bravery to beat his man to the ball and left Samson with no chance. The Dons were on fire and had a third when a slack pass from Samson was intercepted by Scott Wright, the youth academy graduate then strode past the keeper without breaking sweat and could have went on his own with just one defender to beat. Instead Wright opted to square the ball for May and the striker made no mistake to net his first goal of the campaign.

In the 56th minute Aberdeen had a chance to make it 4-0 from the penalty spot when Mackay-Steven skinned his man with a great piece of skill just inside the area. The winger was full of confidence and subsequently took the penalty squeezing the ball past Samson to get his second of the match. The match had fizzled out a bit as The Dons took their foot off the gas a bit but the work was done after a devastating first half performance ended the match as a contest.

Derek McInnes’ side would again get to the final but lost narrowly 1-0 to Celtic.

Aberdeen: Lewis, Shinnie, Considine, Gleeson, Ross (Forrester 61), Mackay-Steven, Wright (Anderson 71), May (McLennan 79), Devlin, Ferguson, Ball.

Unused Subs: Campbell, Cosgrove, Roscoe, Cerny

St. Mirren: Samson, P. McGinn, Coulson, S. McGinn, Baird, Kpekawa (Jones 62), Willock, Magennis, Brock-Madsen (Cooke 81), Smith (MacPherson 63), Mullen

STATS

ABERDEEN V ST MIRREN | LEAGUE CUP | FOR THE RECORD

Overall

Played 17, won 11, drawn 4, lost 2. Scored 40, conceded 19.

At Pittodrie

Played 10, won 7, drawn 2, lost 1. Scored 26, conceded 9.

 

(Date Result Round Venue Scorers Att)

9.8.1947 St Mirren 0:1 Aberdeen  Group A Love St (Williams) 8,000

30.8.1947 Aberdeen 2:0 St Mirren Group A Pittodrie (Hamilton) 2 20,090

11.9.1948 Aberdeen 3:1 St Mirren Group D Pittodrie (Hamilton 2, Harris) 25,124

2.10.1948 St Mirren 1:1 Aberdeen Group D Love St (Harris) 17,000

13.8.1949 St Mirren 3:1 Aberdeen Group A Love St (Kelly) 25,000

27.8.1949 Aberdeen 1:0 St Mirren Group A Pittodrie (Yorston) 21,877

22.10.1955 Aberdeen 2:1 St Mirren FINAL Hampden (OG, Leggat) 44,106

14.8.1963 Aberdeen 2:2 St Mirren Group 2 Pittodrie (Hume 2) 11,031

28.8.1963 St Mirren 0:3 Aberdeen Group 2 Love St (Winchester 2, Hume) 6,960

15.8.1964 St Mirren 3:3 Aberdeen Group 1 Love St (Hume, Cooke, Smith) 5,034

29.8.1964 Aberdeen 2:2 St Mirren Group 1 Pittodrie (Winchester, Hume) 6,780

18.8.1976 St Mirren 2:3 Aberdeen Group 2 Love St (Fleming 2, Harper) 4,500

25.8.1976 Aberdeen 4:0 St Mirren Group 2 Pittodrie (Harper 2, Williamson 2) 8,212

30.8.1989 Aberdeen 3:1 St Mirren Q/Final Pittodrie (Bett, Mason, OG) 11,500

19.8.1995 Aberdeen 3:1 St Mirren Round 2 Pittodrie (Booth 2, Dodds) 10,397

30.10.2012 Aberdeen 2:2 St Mirren Q/Final Pittodrie (Vernon, Magennis) 7,610
(2-4 on penalties)

18.08.2018 Aberdeen 4:0 St Mirren Round 2 Pittodrie (Mackay-Steven 2, Shinnie, May) 9,011

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