Dons do the Poznan
When the Dons won the ECWC everyone remembers who they beat it the Quarters, Semi and obviously the final, and most even remember who they beat in the Preliminary round cause of the fact the Dons put seven past Sion at Pittodrie. But many people forget about the difficult third tie the Dons had to overcome. They also had to overcome a mental barrier as no Aberdeen team had ever reached the quarter finals of a European trophy before.
Aberdeen v Lech Poznan
Aberdeen had progressed past the 2nd round of European football for the first time when they beat Arges Pitesti in the 1981 UEFA Cup. While that was a landmark that manager Alex Ferguson was desperate to reach, he soon set his team new targets as the Dons began to make their mark in the European arena. On their way to the final of the ECWC in 1983, the Dons came up against Polish side Lech Poznan in the 2nd round. Having overwhelmed Swiss side Sion in the Preliminary tie, the Dons edged out Tirana in the first round proper to set up a clash with the Polish Cup winners. Aberdeen went in to the tie not as well prepared, as Ferguson would have liked. Meticulous in his studying of all European opponents, Ferguson and assistant Archie Knox were thwarted on more than one occasion to spy on the Poles in competitive action. Poland at that time was a country in turmoil as the union uprisings in the industrial heartlands had caused huge political and social unrest. Travelling to the country which was under Martial law was proving hazardous and for that reason alone, manager Ferguson was adamant that his team take a good lead to Poznan for what was sure to be a daunting trip. In the first leg at Pittodrie on 20th October 1982, the Dons dominated the tie but only had goals from Peter Weir and new Motherwell boss Mark McGhee to show for their efforts. The Poles set out to defend in depth and frustrate the Dons in front of a 17,600 Pittodrie crowd. Despite everything manager Ferguson was reasonably happy in that his side did not concede a goal at home and he was confident his players would progress to the quarter finals.
Two weeks later the Aberdeen party arrived in Poznan in Eastern Poland and were greeted with a covering of snow in freezing weather conditions. The imposing stadium in Poznan was being run by the Military in a setting that resembled a scene more like something from the war film ‘Escape To Victory’ than a European CWC tie. However Aberdeen did not have to rely on the extravagance of Sylvester Stallone to over come a spirited and often frenzied Polish side. In front of a partisan 30,000 home crowd, the Dons mastered Poznan with a maturity that belied their European inexperience with as professional display as had been seen from an Aberdeen side away from home in Europe. The crowd was silenced when Doug Bell claimed the only goal of the game after 59 minutes, effectively ending the tie as a contest.
The Aberdeen stay was a short but productive one for the Dons. The Aberdeen party flew out from Poznan immediately after the game and were back in Aberdeen later that evening with their place in the last eight of the ECWC secured.
* Lech Poznan are in this year’s Europa League. They will enter the competition in the Second qualifying round.
1982-83 European Cup Winners Cup – Second Round
20 Oct 1982 Aberdeen 2 – 0 Lech Poznan 17,600
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