For Sunday, the RedMatchday team have put together a special Scottish Cup programme to mark the club’s 400th game in the competition. In one half of the publication we look back at some of the best AFC cup moments and we have printed YOUR stories:
Back in 1983 I was a 12-year-old schoolboy whose Dad worked as a postie out of the Dee Street sorting office in Aberdeen. At weekends, the postie's ran a bus to away games and I was always delighted to be invited along. One of the many memorable away days that stands out was against today's opponents, Partick Thistle. A typical blood and thunder cup tie against a promising Patrick Thistle team who had Maurice Johnston on the teamlines and were challenging Hearts at the top of the First Division for a place in the Premier League. A hard fought 2-1 victory with goals from Neale Cooper and Peter Weir was enough to see us safely into the semi-final and the game was all the more memorable as it was sandwiched between the famous ECWC ties against Bayern Munich. Happy, never to be forgotten days for a 12-year-old Dons fan. Mark Davidson
As well as those of our many columnists:
One of the marvellous things about cup runs is that, very often, the mightiest of oaks grows from the most unspectacular of acorns. The experience of winning a trophy can be like watching a life cycle in time-lapse: from the first shoots poking through in winter cold at some lower-league outground, to the resplendent Reds coming into full bloom in Hampden's May sun.
So for that reason, one of my most abiding Scottish Cup memories is from 1990, as the Dons were embarking on what, to date, is their last triumphant campaign. Aberdeen took on Morton in torrential rain at Pittodrie, and after a first half in which the First Division strugglers scored early, hit the bar twice and should have had a penalty, the Reds faced elimination until a Hans Gillhaus equaliser. Then, late in the day, came Charlie Nicholas. Smashing the ball into the Beach End net, Charlie splashed over to the South Stand, reached over the wall, plucked a tiny, drenched supporter out of the front row, and hoisted him aloft in celebration.
Three months later, Charlie and his teammates were holding the Scottish Cup in similar fashion; a generation later there are probably dozens of 30-something gadgies telling their own children that they were the boy bosied by Champagne Charlie en route to Hampden glory. It's the little things that make moments magical.
Chris Crighton
In the other half of the programme we preview Sunday’s massive match and have exclusive interviews with the manager and a number of the first team squad including two members who have already lifted the famous old trophy:
Neil Alexander “You are always learning. I am still learning and looking to improve. I look at things I can learn from Joe and are there things I can add to my game that Gordon can teach me that make me better?
“But you have to keep learning because the game keeps changing, as it has massively across my career. The rules have changed. You could pick up pass backs back then! Things have changed I think for the better. The game is getting quicker and the balls we are using are faster and lighter and move a lot more.” Over that long career, Neil has accumulated plenty of experience of playing big games – is his preparation different for those than a normal league game?
“You do treat them differently. I would be lying if I said I did not do that. You know what is coming, your preparation is different, you try and do everything right. Everything is leading up to that one day when you just want everything to go right. Fortunately I managed to play in two Scottish Cup finals and had two wins”.
Graeme Shinnie “With the cup, you always want a home draw. Cup games are never easy. It does not matter if you get a Premiership team, a Championship team, whoever it is, it is a one-off cup tie and everyone is always right up for it.
“We were pleased to come out of the hat first and be playing at home, but we know it will be a very tough test today. The games this season against them have been close and I think during those games they have played well. The recent game at Pittodrie was a very good win in the end and we had to work very hard. So we expect another tough one on Sunday, but we know if we play to our strengths, then we have got a good chance of making it into a semi-final
“We are a club that definitely wants both. Expectations inside and outside of the club are the same. We will just focus on one game at a time and we have been doing that very well in the league. When the cup games come around, it is a different focus and it is something we demand of ourselves.”
Ryan Jack “We can take a break from the league and look to bounce back from Tuesday night – and what a game to try to do it in. It’s another absolutely huge game for the club. One of the joys of playing for a great club like Aberdeen is that every week is a big week. There is always a big game with a big crowd supporting you.
“We have not hidden the fact we want to do well in this competition and want to lift the Scottish Cup this year, so Sunday is a massive game and one we are absolutely desperate to win. Partick will make it hard for us, I’m sure of that, but with the crowd behind us, hopefully we can book a place in the semi-finals.”
Niall McGinn “It is another massive game for the club. There is going to be a big crowd here so it is a game we are looking forward to. We also know it is going to be another very tough match as Partick have had some good results recently. We know we are in for a battle but we have a home draw and our home form has been excellent for a while now, so it’s a game we are looking forward to.
“The hunger to do well in the cups is definitely there. We had another taste of it by getting to the League Cup final but the hunger has been there since we won the League Cup a couple of seasons ago. Since then, we have come close to another without quite getting our hands on a trophy. We are a good cup team and have proved that by getting to one cup final already this season, but we want to go a step further.”
Derek McInnes “In the last round, the win up in Dingwall was a proper cup tie with the couple of thousand fans who travelled really making a difference thanks to the atmosphere they created and maintained throughout the 90 minutes. That’s what we need again today as we bid to overcome what we know is going to be a very difficult opponent. Ask any of the players and they will tell you the same thing, that the support we get from the fans really does make such a difference.”
And to mark the occasion of our 400th Scottish Cup game there is another superb cover from Paine Proffitt. RedMatchday Issue 20 is available from sellers in and around the ground priced at £3.00. There will be copies available to buy in the club shop plus you can buy all the AFC programmes online here
