PART 5 | CHAMPIONS!

Years of bitter memories were swept away in triumphant fashion on 3rd May 1980 when Aberdeen won against Hibernian at Easter Road. “Champions” declared the local Green Final as news of the Dons success hit the streets. Down at Easter Road more than 8,000 of the Red Army were celebrating on the Easter Road pitch along with a jubilant Alex Ferguson and his players.

Willie Miller said after the Dons title success that many of the younger players in the Aberdeen side did not fully appreciate the magnitude of their achievement.

“I don’t think they realise just exactly what they have done. To win a cup is one thing but to become champions is something else and it has not quite sunk in yet. Bobby Clark has been here for many years and he epitomised just what an achievement this is for Aberdeen. We think we can improve and this is only the first real step for us. We have broken the backs of the Glasgow clubs and we have stated our intent.”

That intent was clear as the Dons of course went on to greater success at home and abroad, but there is no doubt that the 1980 League success provided the platform for those glory days in the 80’s.

On what was the last Saturday of the league season the Aberdeen objective was clear. A victory at Easter Road over Hibernian and if Celtic failed to beat St Mirren at Paisley, then the title was heading north for the first time since 1955. The trip to Edinburgh may not have been so daunting as expected.

Hibernian had by their own standards slipped from grace under Willie Ormond and had been marooned at the bottom of the league and already consigned to relegation. However the Dons had yet to win a Premier League game at Easter Road so there was no complacency in the Aberdeen ranks.

Aberdeen could do little wrong and had back-to-back wins over Celtic in Glasgow behind them. In hindsight the real hard work had been done, it was just down to the closing matches to see if the Dons could hold their nerve.

Aberdeen had the backing of a huge traveling support and with Hibernian having rookie keeper Dave Huggins making his debut the Dons were keen to exploit this at every opportunity. It was a truly nervous occasion for all concerned and it took Aberdeen until the 23rd minute to make the vital breakthrough. John McMaster floated a left foot cross in to the box and Steve Archibald ghosted in between two Hibs defenders to glance his header past Huggins.

The Aberdeen support behind the Hibernian goal were ecstatic—the pressure was now on Celtic. Minutes later Andy Watson made it 2-0 and Aberdeen at that early stage were out of sight. From that moment on it was as much as listening for events from Paisley as Aberdeen dominated the game and went further ahead with goals from Mark McGhee and a brace from Ian Scanlon. If goals were going to make a difference in the final analysis then the Dons were leaving nothing to chance. Bobby Clark in the Aberdeen goal was often seen turning round to the massed Red Army behind his goal asking what the score was with Celtic. As the game wore on the nerves were showing in the crowd.

Suddenly in the closing minutes a huge roar went up from the Aberdeen support, suggesting a St Mirren goal.

It was in actual fact a Celtic penalty claim that had been turned down by a linesman’s flag. It was not over yet. Moments later it was.

News came through that Celtic could only draw 0-0 at Paisley—Aberdeen were Champions!

The Dons fans celebrated by invading the pitch as Alex Ferguson rushed on to embrace keeper Clark, the most experienced of the Aberdeen players. As the Aberdeen players made their way through the thronging crowds the party was only just beginning.

There was no hiding place for the Aberdeen players after the game as the Red Army scaled the high fences around Easter Road to join in the celebrations.

Players were carried shoulder high off the field as the team popped the champagne corks inside the dressing room. There was of course still one match to play but that was an academic trip to Firhill as the season drew to a close.

Aberdeen returned triumphant and took a special trip down Union Street on an open topped bus all the way to Pittodrie as the League Championship trophy was shown to the Aberdeen support.

The team made their way past the Town House where they were greeted by Provost William Fraser and local dignitaries. From there it was down to a packed Pittodrie where 20,000 fans awaited their heroes. Captain Willie Miller was presented officially with the trophy from Scottish League President Tom Lauchlan. The celebrations continued on the pitch as the Dons party went on an impromptu kick about with Gordon Strachan in goals to the delight of the crowd.

PARTICK THISTLE

While May 3rd 1980 will go down in Pittodrie history as one of the club’s most memorable days, it’s often forgotten that Aberdeen concluded their triumphant Premier League campaign four days later at Firhill. The Dons had one game left against Partick Thistle at Firhill and their season ended in a 1-1 draw against the Maryhill side.

In a quirk of fate, the Dons began their campaign at the same ground, losing 1-0 on August 11th 1979. Some 35 games later, Aberdeen arrived as Champions, fresh from their 5-0 hammering of Hibernian that clinched the league title for the first time since 1955. Mathematically Celtic could still have won the title – if Thistle beat Aberdeen by ten clear goals. That was never going to happen as the Dons saw out their season with a rather tame 1-1 draw against Partick who applauded the Dons onto the pitch.

Aberdeen won the flag after an impressive run of 15 games unbeaten as they clawed back what most thought was an unassailable lead.

One statistic that was unwelcome was that Aberdeen failed to beat Partick Thistle in four clashes in the league that season, great credit to Thistle. Plenty of Aberdeen supporters made their way to see the new League Champions and the Red Army were also all over the Firhill pitch at full time; scenes not unlike the wild celebrations at Easter Road the previous Saturday. For the record, Melrose scored for Thistle and the Aberdeen goal came curtesy of an own goal.

It had been a season in which the Dons had lost the League Cup Final and the semi final of the Scottish Cup. That disappointment galvanised the side to sustain a league challenge that many had thought beyond them. It was the beginning of a golden era for Aberdeen.

Summary

There was no doubt that it was the Dons form away from home that had made all the difference. The Dons accumulated 24 points on their travels compared to Celtic’s 18 and St Mirren’s 15. In the goals scored it was the Dons who duly delivered with Aberdeen being the only club to show a goal plus difference with 38 scored and 18 conceded. Compared to Celtic’s 17 scored, 21 conceded it was that form away from home that made all the difference to Aberdeen. Against the Glasgow duo Aberdeen excelled with three wins and a draw over Rangers with two wins and a draw against Celtic. When you consider the Dons record against the Glasgow sides in all competitive matches that season it represented the best return ever by any Scottish club; Played 13, Won 9, Drawn 2, Lost 2, For 24, Against 12.

The Dons success was even more remarkable when it is considered that Aberdeen had only managed 17 points from their first 15 outings. It was a harsh winter and backlog of fixtures that ultimately helped the Dons hit an unbeaten run of games that saw Aberdeen claw back Celtic’s ‘unassailable’ 12-point lead. For the record no Aberdeen player played in all 36 league matches that season but Bobby Clark, Stuart Kennedy, Alex McLeish and John McMaster missed only one game all season.

The Aberdeen success was the first title win outside of Glasgow for 15 years. The last team to achieve that success was Kilmarnock in 1965. The landscape of the Scottish game had changed. Between 1952-1965 there were no less than seven different winners of the Scottish League title; including Aberdeen’s first title success in 1955. Along with Rangers and Celtic, both the Edinburgh clubs and Dundee all won the league championship in what was a golden era in Scottish football.

But this though was the beginning of a golden era for Aberdeen.

Stats

Double wins:
Home: (3) Dundee, Rangers, St Mirren.
Away: (3) Celtic, Dundee, Kilmarnock.
Double losses:
Home: (0). Away: (1) Morton.

High spots:
Aberdeen become League Champions for the first time since 1955.
Double wins home and away against the Old Firm in the League Cup.
15-game undefeated run in the League from March-May.
Double League wins over Celtic in Glasgow in April carries Dons on the way to title.
Steve Archibald scores four in Dons’ eight-goal rout of Airdrie in the Scottish Cup.
Miller, McLeish, Archibald and Strachan picked by Jock Stein to play for Scotland.
Aberdeen ’A’ win the Reserve League Cup for fifth time.

Low points:
Brave UEFA Cup performance not enough in Frankfurt.
Disastrous League Cup final defeat (0-3) against Dundee Utd in Dens Park replay.
Semi-final defeat in the Scottish Cup (0-1) against Rangers at Celtic Park.
Ever-presents: (0).
Hat-tricks: (3) Steve Archibald 2, Ian Scanlon.
Leading scorer: (22) Steve Archibald.