Duncan Shearer: Weekend of a lifetime is just the start for Aberdeen

Press and Journal

26-05-2025

It has been an amazing weekend for Aberdeen after the Dons beat Celtic on penalties to win the Scottish Cup.
The drama on Saturday at Hampden was incredible but the joyous scenes of the open top bus parade through the Granite City on Sunday was equally spectacular.
It's moments like that which show you just how much the football club means to the city and its people.
I watched the game in a pub in Fort William with some friends.
I grew up a Celtic fan and the place was full of Hoops supporters, but when the Dons scored their equaliser I jumped up to roar in celebration.
'Oh aye, it's like that now is it?' was one of the more printable responses which came my way, but what can I say?
When you play for Aberdeen it leaves a mark on you.
That's why I was delighted for Dons captain Graeme Shinnie.
To win the Scottish Cup with two different teams is special. To skipper two different clubs to cup glory, however, puts Shinnie in a class of his own.
I know Graeme well from his time at Caley Thistle. He's an Aberdeen lad, a great guy and the consummate professional.
To win the cup for a second time, after being the nearly man on a few occasions, on his 300th appearance for the Dons no less, is incredible.
It's almost as if it was meant to be.
I was delighted to Dons boss Jimmy Thelin too. He looked like a man in need of a holiday by the end of it all and it comes as no surprise.
The Swede has been through an emotional wringer of a first season in Scottish football but has ended it with the prize of the Scottish Cup and qualification for Europe.
Not bad for a first season, not bad at all.
I have to hand it to the Aberdeen manager, he showed nerves of steel with his team selection, formation and approach at Hampden.
To rip up the playbook for the final game of the season, and set his team out the way he did was bold.
But seeing his players execute the gameplan perfectly must have given him enormous satisfaction.
His three-man defence was outstanding with Jack Milne showing maturity beyond his 22 years with an accomplished display on his first start in the Scottish Cup.
Nicky Devlin, a surprise choice at left back, ran himself into the ground for the cause as he shackled Nicolas Kuhn brilliantly.
For the rest of the team it was a day of sheer graft, organisation, and total commitment. Thankfully, Aberdeen had all of those qualities in abundance.
When the time came for the substitutes to play their part it was the men in red who had the greater impact off the bench.
Shayden Morris' pace terrified Celtic while the unorthodox Pape Gueye gave the Dons a physical presence in the final third as the legs in the closing stages and during extra-time.
Capping it off was Dimitar Mitov's crucial late save to deny Daizen Maeda a winner before pulling off two further saves in the penalty shootout.
A special word too for chairman Dave Cormack and his board of directors at the club.
They fought hard for a 50-50 split of the tickets for the final, even coughing up the money upfront to ensure they got their way – and it paid off big time.
Facing Celtic or Rangers at Hampden in a cup final is hard enough as it is.
They have the financial advantage and their fans just have to roll out of bed and they've arrived at the National Stadium.
Giving them, or Rangers for that matter, another advantage of more tickets for the game has always struck me as unfair.
But the sight of the red and green split perfectly on the halfway line, and the incredible backing of the underdogs on the big stage showed Cormack's fight on behalf of his club was justified.
I hope it has also convinced the SFA has to make an equal allocation of cup final tickets the precedent for future finals.
It's a cup final, the meeting of two teams on equal footing in a one-off game. Let's treat it as such.
The big question is what comes next for the Dons and their manager?
Well, Europe awaits, and as the chairman stated at the parade on Sunday, the Dons need to be stronger to cope with the demands of European football alongside domestic competition.
The travel, the Thursday-Sunday fixtures and the lack of recovery time will put a strain on the Dons squad.
They struggled with it last season and will look to handle it much better in the next campaign.
That will mean further backing for the manager to build a stronger squad but Thelin has shown he deserves that backing after ending the 35 year wait to bring the Scottish Cup back to Pittodrie.
Finishing fifth in the league felt disappointing given how good the start to the season was.
But if you had asked an Aberdeen fan at the start of the season if winning the Scottish Cup, qualifying for Europe, and finishing fifth would the outcome, I'm sure they'd all have taken it.
Anyway, that fifth place finish now leaves room for improvement – and the holders have a cup to try to defend next season.