The RedMatchday team have been busy this week putting together a special Scottish Cup edition of the programme.

As ever there is an in-depth history section, with a good number of pages devoted to the previous clashes between the two rivals in this competition. We have also been delving deep into all our photo libraries to dig out some classic pics from the ties.

United had not come up against Aberdeen in the cup in almost the first 30 years of their existence. The teams first met in 1952 and after that the sides would then go on and meet regularly in the Scottish Cup and there have been some titanic battles down the years…

… 1967 was a remarkable year for Scottish football in many ways, capped off by the national side beating England at Wembley. In the Scottish Cup the Dons march to Hampden for the cup final was relentless. After inflicting a 5-0 defeat on Dundee which was one of the Dens Park clubs record defeats, Aberdeen returned to Dens for the semi- final against United. ‘Turnbull’s Tornadoes’ were one of the most attractive sides in the country. United reached the last four and had yet to concede a goal. It was a hugely anticipated game.

It took a piece of Jimmy ‘Jinky’ Smith magic to settle the tie in the fourth minute. Smith worked his way in on goal and the ball went into the net with Millar the unfortunate United defender. Dens Park was bursting at the seams that day with an estimated crowd of 41,000 inside the ground. Jim Storrie missed a penalty for the Dons which made for a nervous finish for Aberdeen.

Four years later Aberdeen again prevailed after a replay. A tough tie at Tannadice saw Aberdeen born Doug Smith put United ahead against the holders with a penalty. Henning Boel was judged to have taken Alan Gordon down in the box. It took a Jim Forrest equaliser fifteen minutes from time to take the tie back to Pittodrie. The Dons could have won it in a dramatic finale. Joe Harper rounded United keeper McAlpine but Walter Smith got back to clear the ball off the line. The tie was all-ticket and both teams wore black armbands to respect Dons director Douglas Philip who passed away the night before the game in Dundee.

A week earlier fire destroyed a large part of the Main Stand at Pittodrie with the Scottish Cup trophy being rescued by the Fire Brigade during the fire that caused widespread damage to the club dressing rooms and offices. Many club artefacts were lost with the Scottish Cup was saved.

Four days after the game at Tannadice, a crowd of almost 30,000 filled Pittodrie for the replay, the first since the fire. In a bruising encounter it was Aberdeen that went through after two second half goals.

Joe Harper had to be taken off after a clash with United keeper McAlpine that saw a gash in Harper’s shin which required several stitches. The crucial breakthrough came in 67 minutes when Henning Boel swooped to score after being set up by Dave Robb. Robb scored a second for the Dons with two minutes left.

A year later it was a lot more comfortable as the sides once again were drawn to meet at Tannadice. After Bertie Miller gave Aberdeen the lead in seven minutes, Bobby Clark came to the Dons rescue when he saved a Kenny Cameron penalty. Aberdeen finished the tie in three second half minutes. Joe Harper scored in 64 minutes with a penalty and the Dons top scorer struck again minutes later. Willie Young completed the rout in the final minute.

The Aberdeen hoodoo over United in the Scottish Cup continued in 1975 when once again the Dons prevailed at Tannadice. The game was postponed on the original Saturday date and four days later a huge Aberdeen support made it to Tannadice. The decisive moment came in 14 minutes when Kopel’s back pass was intercepted by Billy Williamson. Although McAlpine saved, the ball broke to Drew Jarvie who scored with ease. In the second half Ian Purdie went close for the Dons when his effort came back off the bar.

Aberdeen then held out as the home side pressed. Kopel had the chance to atone when Miller handled in the box but his penalty was sent wide. Willie Young was emerging as centre half or real quality as he kept United striker Andy Gray quiet throughout…

You can read in further detail about all these games and much more in RedMatchday’s Scottish Cup Special. To order your copy of the programme click here