1988–89 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen F.C.
1988-89 season
Chairman Dick Donald
Manager Alex Smith
Scottish Premier Division 2nd
Scottish Cup Fourth round
Scottish League Cup Runner-up
UEFA Cup First round
Top goalscorer League: Charlie Nicholas (16)
All: Charlie Nicholas (18)
Highest home attendance 23,000 vs. Dundee United, 18 February 1989
Lowest home attendance 6,500 vs. Motherwell, 6 May 1989
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Aberdeen F.C. competed in the Scottish Premier Division, Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup and UEFA Cup in season 1988–89.

Contents

Overview

Aberdeen began the season under new management. Alex Smith and Jocky Scott were appointed as co-managers after the resignation of Ian Porterfield during the summer. New signings included Paul Mason and Theo Snelders from FC Groningen and FC Twente respectively.

Aberdeen finished second in the League behind Rangers, and reached the final of the League Cup, which they lost to Rangers after extra time. In the Scottish Cup, they lost in the fourth round to Dundee United, and in Europe, they lost to East German club Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the UEFA Cup.

Results

Scottish Premier Division

Match Day Date Opponent H/A Score Aberdeen Scorer(s) Attendance
1 13 August Dundee A 1–1 Dodds 12,222
2 20 August St. Mirren H 1–1 Connor 12,046
3 27 August Dundee United A 2–2 Bett, Hewitt 14,735
4 3 September Hibernian H 0–0 14,000
5 17 September Celtic A 3–1 Grant, Bett, Dodds 37,769
6 24 September Heart of Midlothian H 1–0 Nicholas 14,000
7 27 September Hamilton Academical A 1–0 Connor 3,634
8 1 October Motherwell A 1–1 Miller 4,225
9 8 October Rangers H 2–1 Nicholas, Bett 22,370
10 12 October St. Mirren A 1–1 Dodds 4,287
11 29 October Heart of Midlothian A 1–1 Own goal 12,644
12 2 November Celtic H 2–2 Nicholas, Dodds 22,000
13 5 November Hibernian A 2–1 Nicholas (2) 11,500
14 12 November Dundee United H 1–1 Mason 15,184
15 16 November Dundee H 1–0 Wright 11,181
16 19 November Motherwell H 2–1 Nicholas, Hewitt 10,028
17 26 November Rangers A 0–1 42,239
18 3 December Hamilton Academical H 1–1 Nicholas 8,324
19 10 December Celtic A 0–0 42,437
20 17 December St. Mirren H 3–1 Irvine, C. Robertson, Hewitt 8,500
21 31 December Dundee A 0–2 9,828
22 3 January Dundee United A 1–1 Nicholas 17,952
23 7 January Hibernian H 2–0 Nicholas (2) 13,500
24 14 January Rangers H 1–2 Nicholas 22,000
25 21 January Motherwell A 2–0 Connor, van der Ark 5,906
26 14 February Hamilton Academical A 2–0 Wright, Nicholas 2,016
27 25 February Heart of Midlothian H 3–0 Own goal, Irvine, Wright 15,000
28 11 March Dundee H 2–0 Nicholas, Wright 11,800
29 25 March St. Mirren A 3–1 Nicholas, Wright, Mason 7,541
30 1 April Dundee United H 1–0 Nicholas 16,700
31 8 April Hibernian A 2–1 Bett, Mason 11,000
32 15 April Hamilton Academical H 3–0 Nicholas (2), Mason 9,712
33 22 April Heart of Midlothian A 0–1 13,367
34 29 April Celtic H 0–0 21,500
35 6 May Motherwell H 0–0 6,500
36 13 May Rangers A 3–0 van der Ark, Wright, Bett 42,480

Final League table

P Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Rangers 36 26 4 6 62 26 36 56
2 Aberdeen 36 18 14 4 51 25 26 50
3 Celtic 36 21 4 11 66 44 22 46
4 Dundee United 36 16 12 8 44 26 18 44

Scottish League Cup

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Aberdeen Scorer(s) Attendance
R2 17 August Arbroath H 4–0 Miller (2), Bett, Hewitt 9,139
R3 23 August Morton A 2–1 Bett (2) 3,131
QF 31 August Hibernian A 2–1 Nicholas, Grant 13,500
SF 20 September Dundee United N 2–0 Dodds, Hewitt 18,491
F 23 October Rangers N 2–3 Dodds (2) 72,122

Scottish Cup

Main article: Scottish Cup 1988–89
Round Date Opponent H/A Score Aberdeen Scorer(s) Attendance
R3 28 January Dunfermline Athletic A 0–0 16,656
R3 R 1 February Dunfermline Athletic H 3–1 Wright (2), Nicholas 21,500
R4 18 February Dundee United H 1–1 Connor 23,000
R4 R 22 February Dundee United A 1–1 Grant 18,756
R4 R2 27 February Dundee United A 0–1 21,095

UEFA Cup

Main article: 1988–89 UEFA Cup
Round Date Opponent H/A Score Aberdeen Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 L1 7 September Dynamo Dresden H 0–0 14,500
R1 L2 5 October Dynamo Dresden A 0–2 36,000

Squad

Appearances & Goals

No. Nat Pos Player Total Premier Division Scottish Cup League Cup Europe
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
MF Jim Bett 43 8 31 5 5 0 5 3 2 0
MF Bobby Connor 48 5 36 4 5 1 5 0 2 0
FW Davie Dodds 34 7 23 4 4 0 5 3 2 0
MF Brian Grant 33 3 27 1 3 1 2 1 1 0
MF Stevie Gray 5 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
FW John Hewitt 35 5 27 3 2 0 5 2 1 0
DF Brian Irvine 35 2 27 2 5 0 3 0 0 0
FW Eoin Jess 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF Andy MacLeod 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF Paul Mason 33 4 28 4 1 0 2 0 2 0
DF Stewart McKimmie 47 0 35 0 5 0 5 0 2 0
DF Alex McLeish 46 0 34 0 5 0 5 0 2 0
DF Willie Miller 29 3 22 1 0 0 5 2 2 0
FW Charlie Nicholas 37 18 28 16 5 1 3 1 1 0
MF Craig Robertson 5 1 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
DF David Robertson 30 0 23 0 0 0 5 0 2 0
DF Ian Robertson 12 0 7 0 5 0 0 0 0 0
MF Neil Simpson 28 0 16 0 5 0 5 0 2 0
GK Theo Snelders 48 0 36 0 5 0 5 0 2 0
FW Willem van der Ark 9 2 8 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
DF Gregg Watson 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW Paul Wright 28 8 22 6 4 2 1 0 1 0

References

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