1987–88 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen F.C. competed in the Scottish Premier Division, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and UEFA Cup in season 1987–88.

Aberdeen F.C.
1987-88 season
ChairmanDick Donald
ManagerIan Porterfield
Scottish Premier Division4th
Scottish CupSemi final
Scottish League CupFinal
UEFA CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague: Jim Bett (10)
All: Davie Dodds (15)
Highest home attendance24,000 vs. Celtic, 1 September 1987
Lowest home attendance5,500 vs. Motherwell, 7 May 1988
Average home league attendance13,460

Overview

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Aberdeen finished fourth in the Premier Division for the second successive season. They reached the League Cup final, but lost 5–3 on penalty kicks after a 3–3 draw against Rangers in October. In the Scottish Cup, they lost in the semi-final after a second replay defeat to Dundee United. Aberdeen's UEFA Cup campaign ended in a second round defeat to Dutch club Feyenoord on the away goals rule, after defeating Irish club Bohemian F.C. in the first round.

New signings included Peter Nicholas from Luton Town, Gary Hackett, Tom Jones, Keith Edwards and Charlie Nicholas, who joined from Arsenal in December 1987.

Results

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Scottish Premier Division

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Match Day Date Opponent H/A Score Aberdeen Scorer(s) Attendance
1 8 August Dundee A 1–1 Dodds 10,223
2 12 August Morton H 3–1 Simpson, Dodds, J. Miller 8,000
3 15 August Rangers H 2–0 Dodds, P. Nicholas 22,500
4 22 August Motherwell A 1–0 Dodds 4,858
5 29 August Dundee United H 1–1 Bett 16,000
6 5 September Falkirk A 2–2 J. Miller, Falconer 5,327
7 12 September St Mirren H 2–0 J. Miller, Falconer 11,000
8 19 September Celtic A 2–2 J. Miller, P. Nicholas 38,944
9 26 September Hibernian A 2–0 Grant, Falconer 10,500
10 3 October Dunfermline Athletic H 3–0 P. Nicholas, Falconer, Edwards 11,313
11 7 October Heart of Midlothian A 1–2 Bett 17,741
12 10 October Dundee H 0–0 12,500
13 17 October Dundee United A 0–0 11,281
14 28 October St Mirren A 3–1 Bett (2), Falconer 4,707
15 31 October Celtic H 0–1 21,000
16 7 November Morton A 0–0 3,000
17 14 November Heart of Midlothian H 0–0 20,000
18 17 November Rangers A 1–0 W. Miller 41,371
19 21 November Motherwell H 1–0 Dodds 9,700
20 24 November Hibernian H 1–1 Edwards 9,000
21 28 November Dunfermline Athletic A 3–0 Wright, Jones 7,500
22 5 December Dundee A 2–1 Wright (2), Dodds 8,799
23 9 December Falkirk H 3–1 Wright, Dodds, Bett 8,000
24 12 December Morton H 4–0 Connor, Dodds, Bett (2) 8,000
25 16 December St Mirren H 2–1 W. Miller, Bett 6,500
26 19 December Celtic A 0–0 37,721
27 26 December Falkirk A 2–0 McLeish, Hewitt 5,000
28 2 January Dundee United H 0–0 21,500
29 9 January Hibernian A 0–0 16,000
30 16 January Dunfermline Athletic H 1–0 Falconer 20,000
31 23 January Motherwell A 1–2 C. Nicholas 6,584
32 6 February Rangers H 1–2 Bett 22,500
33 13 February Heart of Midlothian A 2–2 Bett, Jones 18,817
34 27 February Dundee H 1–0 Dodds 13,500
35 5 March St Mirren A 0–0 4,858
36 19 March Dundee United A 2–0 Jones, C. Nicholas 10,403
37 26 March Falkirk H 2–0 Falconer, W. Miller 9,410
38 30 March Celtic H 0–1 22,700
39 2 April Dunfermline Athletic A 1–1 Falconer 7,132
40 16 April Morton A 2–0 C. Nicholas, Porteous 3,200
41 23 April Heart of Midlothian H 0–0 10,500
42 30 April Rangers A 1–0 Irvine 36,010
43 4 May Hibernian H 0–2 7,000
44 7 May Motherwell H 0–0 5,500

Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
2 Heart of Midlothian 44 23 16 5 74 32 +42 62 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3 Rangers 44 26 8 10 85 34 +51 60
4 Aberdeen 44 21 17 6 56 25 +31 59
5 Dundee United 44 16 15 13 54 47 +7 47 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
6 Hibernian 44 12 19 13 41 42 −1 43
Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Scottish League Cup

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Round Date Opponent H/A Score Aberdeen Scorer(s) Attendance
R2 18 August Brechin City H 5–1 Irvine, J. Miller (3), Hewitt 9,000
R3 26 August St Johnstone H 3–0 Dodds (2), Bett 10,800
QF 1 September Celtic H 1–0 Bett 24,000
SF 23 September Dundee N 2–0 Irvine, Connor 22,034
F 25 October Rangers N 3–3 (Rangers win 5–3 on penalties) Hewitt, Bett, Falconer 71,961

Scottish Cup

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Round Date Opponent H/A Score Aberdeen Scorer(s) Attendance
R3 30 January St Johnstone A 1–0 Connor 10,000
R4 20 February Hamilton Academical A 2–0 Dodds, Nicholas 7,270
QF 12 March Clyde H 5–0 Falconer, Dodds (3), Edwards 12,000
SF 9 April Dundee United N 0–0 20,488
SF R 13 April Dundee United N 1–1 Nicholas 17,288
SF R2 20 April Dundee United N 0–1 19,048

UEFA Cup

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Round Date Opponent H/A Score Aberdeen Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 L1 15 September   Bohemians A 0–0 10,000
R1 L2 30 September   Bohemians H 1–0 Bett 9,950
R2 L1 21 October   Feyenoord H 2–1 Falconer, J. Miller 16,000
R2 L2 4 November   Feyenoord A 0–1 26,390

Squad

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Appearances & Goals

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No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier Division Scottish Cup League Cup Europe
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
MF   SCO Jim Bett 50 14 38 10 4 0 5 3 3 1
MF   SCO Bobby Connor 45 3 34 1 4 1 3 1 4 0
FW   SCO Davie Dodds 30 15 23 9 5 4 2 2 0 0
FW   ENG Keith Edwards 10 3 9 2 1 1 0 0 0 0
FW   SCO Willie Falconer 46 11 36 8 5 1 1 1 4 1
MF   SCO Lee Gardner 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF   SCO Brian Grant 11 1 7 1 1 0 2 0 1 0
MF   SCO Stevie Gray 8 0 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
MF   ENG Gary Hackett 22 0 15 0 2 0 3 0 2 0
DF   SCO Scott Harvie 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW   SCO John Hewitt 49 3 35 1 5 0 5 2 4 0
DF   SCO Brian Irvine 22 3 16 1 1 0 4 2 1 0
FW   ENG Tom Jones 31 3 28 3 3 0 0 0 0 0
GK   SCO Jim Leighton 59 0 44 0 6 0 5 0 4 0
MF   SCO Michael McArthur 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF   SCO Stewart McKimmie 55 0 42 0 5 0 5 0 3 0
DF   SCO Alex McLeish 47 1 36 1 5 0 2 0 4 0
FW   SCO Joe Miller 23 8 14 4 0 0 5 3 4 1
DF   SCO Willie Miller (c) 57 3 42 3 6 0 5 0 4 0
FW   SCO Charlie Nicholas 22 5 16 3 6 2 0 0 0 0
FW   WAL Peter Nicholas 54 3 39 3 6 0 5 0 4 0
MF   SCO Ian Porteous 3 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF   SCO David Robertson 33 0 23 0 4 0 4 0 2 0
MF   SCO Neil Simpson 24 1 15 1 4 0 3 0 2 0
MF   SCO Peter Weir 9 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 3 0
FW   SCO Paul Wright 9 4 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 0

References

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  • Kevin Stirling. Aberdeen A Centenary History 1903-2003. Desert Island Books 2002. ISBN 1-874287-49-X.