PART 3 | Winter to Spring

The Dons cup commitments had brought little by way of success and one of the harshest winters in living memory did not make for a happy festive period down Pittodrie way.

Aberdeen had to endure a succession of postponed fixtures and with the Dons already behind due to cup fixtures; they had only played 15 league games by January. This had left Aberdeen well off the pace and at that point were not even quoted in the bookies odds for lifting the title.

At that point Celtic looked out of sight as the media bemoaned the lack of a credible challenge with even Rangers falling by the wayside.

Aberdeen compounded the Ibrox club’s capitulation on 12th January 1980 as the Dons served up a cracker at Pittodrie to effectively end their challenge. In a game that had everything, it was young Derek Hamilton who emerged as the Aberdeen hero when he popped up with a last minute winner before an ecstatic home support.

RED ARMY ENJOY LAST MINUTE WINNER AGAINST RANGERS

When Aberdeen won the Premier League title in 1980 it was manager Alex Ferguson who pointed to a crucial win over Rangers at Pittodrie, on the 12th January, that had a significant bearing on the destination of the championship …

A clash against arch rivals Rangers provided Aberdeen with the confidence to go on and lift the most unlikely league title. The significance may have been lost on the Aberdeen support at the time, but it was Alex Ferguson’s firm belief that his sides’ 3-2 win over Rangers was the turning point of their season. It had certainly been a winter of discontent for the Dons having lost in the League Cup Final to a fortunate Dundee Utd who enjoyed a trouble free route to the final. There was little doubt that the Aberdeen players had been suffering from a lack of confidence and there was little talk of Aberdeen resurrecting a league challenge. The league table at the end of the year suggested as much as leaders Celtic had a massive 16 point lead. In the days of two points for a win that lead looked ominous despite Aberdeen having games in hand due to their cup exploits.

The Dons had been up to their old tricks again as inconsistency was rife—a 3-0 home defeat to Dundee Utd was followed by an impressive 1-0 win at Ibrox. By the time Rangers came north for this fixture Aberdeen had won only 7 of their previous 16 outings, hardly championship form. Despite the apparent lack of incentive for both clubs, tensions as ever were high. It was no secret that Aberdeen viewed the scalp of Rangers high on their list of priorities and that Rangers rarely relished the trip north. Memories of Doug Rougvie’s clash with Derek Johnstone in the League Cup Final some months previously still rankled at Pittodrie and revenge was certainly a motivating factor for the Dons.

The powder keg that was Pittodrie exploded after only 80 seconds when Aberdeen took a sensational lead. John McMasters’ free kick went deep into the Rangers area and was headed clear by Tom Forsyth. Gordon Strachan read the situation and ghosted in to send a superb volley past a motionless Peter McCloy. Rangers replied after 11 minutes when they levelled through John McDonald.

The Rangers striker beat Bobby Clark to a McKean cross to stun Aberdeen who had been in command at that stage. Aberdeen responded by taking the game to Rangers at every opportunity and John McMaster should have done better when clean through only to miss the target. The Rangers rear-guard was an ageing one and Aberdeen continued to press but could not force another breakthrough. The Dons had showed an aggression that had rattled Rangers and the second half began with Aberdeen again coming close through Steve Archibald. However after 49 minutes Rangers stunned Aberdeen by taking the lead.

A rare excursion upfield from Colin Jackson resulted in the Aberdonian giving Rangers a shock lead against the run of play. Given that Aberdeen had enjoyed so much of the game and that they were low in confidence, this was the acid test for the Dons. Aberdeen responded by throwing caution and attacking in numbers, with Willie Miller missing from the side it was down to Alex McLeish to drive the Dons on and there pressure finally paid of in the 70th minute. Chaos in the Rangers goal resulted in Steve Archibald scrambling the ball over the line from close range. It was certainly not pretty to watch but that did not matter to the Aberdeen support who raised the roof in the closing stages. John Hewitt came on for the Dons to join the attack as anything other than victory was of no use to the Dons.

Referee Bob Valentine had to be on top of things as tempers frayed—Pittodrie was a cauldron of noise as the game entered the closing stages.

It looked as though Rangers would hang on for a point when Derek Hamilton popped up in injury time to score a dramatic late winner for the Dons. On reflection it was no more than Aberdeen deserved as they had taken the game to Rangers and had the lions share of possession. In the final analysis this result was crucial for the Dons as they went on win their first championship since 1955.

Some time later manager Alex Ferguson pointed to the win over Rangers as the turning point for his side.

ABERDEEN—Clark, Kennedy, Considine, McLeish, Garner, Rougvie, Strachan, Archibald, Hamilton, McMaster, Scanlon. Sub—John Hewitt.

RANGERS—McCloy, Jardine, Dawson, Forsyth, Jackson, Stevens, McLean, Parlane, J McDonald, A. McDonald. Sub—Smith.
Attendance: 18,600

Alex Ferguson was delighted with his players: “The match was a magnificent advert for Scottish football. We knew before the game that we had to win to keep our season going and I have to say that the Aberdeen crowd were immense and they hauled the players through those closing moments after we had taken a deserved lead. If we can keep that kind of passion up then who knows what could happen this season?”

DONS DRAW A BLANK AGAINST CELTIC

A week later, Celtic came north and despite Aberdeen again dominating, Celtic emerged content with a 0-0 draw. Another full house at Pittodrie was present to see the Dons slip up against Celtic, as the Parkhead side established a foothold at the top of the league.

Once again Celtic proved difficult to break down and a 0-0 draw suited the visitor’s as they retained their sizeable lead at the top of the league. Referee Muirhead infuriated the Dons on occasion with several dubious decisions that could have made the difference on the day. It was a crucial period for the Dons title hopes which were strengthened a week earlier with a sensational 3-2 win over Rangers at Pittodrie. The Dons hopes of a Glasgow double were dashed with some poor finishing and bad luck. Captain Willie Miller was frustrated; “Celtic are always a tough opponent but, on the day, we looked the more likely. It was a hard-fought game and we knew that a win would maybe start to put pressure on them. We will continue the fight though; there are still plenty of games to come.”

For many that was seen as the last chance of having any hope of staying in the race.
The Dons were now 12 points behind Celtic and in the days of only two points for a win that lead was a substantial one.

By the time the club emerged from the bleak winter it looked an unassailable deficit to claw back.

Arbroath

Whilst Morton were seen as a bogey side, the same could be said of Division One side Arbroath. That season had seen the Dons play Arbroath in both in League Cup and Scottish Cups – with mixed success.

At the start of the season they met the Angus side home and away in the group stages of the League Cup. An easy 4-0 win at Pittodrie was then followed by a shock 2-1 defeat at Gayfield. The Scottish Cup would also see the sides meet home and away after another shock result at Gayfield, five months after the Dons had lost there in the League Cup. Another poor performance saw Aberdeen come away with a 1-1 draw, Steve Archibald sparing the Dons blushes. The replay though saw the reds dominate and coast to a comfortable 5-0 win with Ian Scanlon scoring his first Aberdeen hat-trick.

Arbroath for all their cup heroics that season against Aberdeen, would finish second bottom of League Division One and were relegated.

On 9th February 1980 Aberdeen drew 1-1 at St Mirren and were 8 points behind Celtic but with two games in hand. In the days of two points for a win, the top of the table on 9th February 1980 still had Morton in the mix.

When Aberdeen lost 2-1 at home to Kilmarnock on 23rd February, they were 10 points behind Celtic with 15 games left, but it was to be their last defeat of the season ….