ABERDEEN supporters will pack out the city's Exhibition and Conference Centre this weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their Cup-Winners' Cup triumph against Real Madrid, and thanks to this result they may yet get the opportunity to experience more European football in the flesh next season.
Ignominious defeat against Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup semi-final, coupled with scraping in to the top six at the last gasp, seemed to scupper their hopes of a second successive season in the Uefa Cup.
Instead, a determination to res
tore some pride following that humiliating setback at Hampden Park, along with the inability of the three teams above them to do anything other than stagger towards the finishing line, has turned it into a four-horse race for Europe.
Aberdeen's season will climax a fortnight on Thursday with the visit of Rangers, just as it did 12 months ago when a win against the Ibrox club clinched Uefa Cup football at the expense of Hearts.
The Aberdeen manager, Jimmy Calderwood, is hoping that is an omen. His other wish must be that Rangers will have tied up the title and be in the mood to rest players less than 48 hours before the Scottish Cup final.
Calderwood, whose team travel to third-placed Motherwell on Saturday, said: "It says a lot about the lads to battle back after the flak they rightly got after losing the Scottish Cup semi-final and at least we are still in there fighting against teams who everyone says have had great seasons. Now if we win next week it could be déjà vu on the last day of the season as we beat Rangers here to get into the Uefa Cup last May."
Calderwood certainly had plenty to be pleased about with this win, only his second against Dundee United since Craig Levein took over as manager of the Tannadice club.
Richard Foster fired home the opener on the half-hour mark after Lukasz Zaluska failed to hold Derek Young's shot, while Karim Touzani headed his first goal for the club after being left unmarked from a corner. That came two minutes after the restart following a half during which the visitors created the better chances only to find Jamie Langfield in inspired form.
He was eventually beaten in 49 minutes as the precociously gifted Danny Swanson weaved past three defenders before cracking a shot from the edge of the area in via the left-hand post.
Swanson was only inches away from an equaliser seconds later but Aberdeen regained their composure and could have scored more on the counterattack themselves in a pulsating derby.
When the dust settled United had lost only their second match in the last 12 but eight of those have ended in draws, which might ultimately deny one of only three Scottish teams to play in a Uefa Cup final the chance not to compete in it next season. Their manager, Levein, is painfully aware of that and said: "Territorially we dominated, possession wise we dominated and it's a familiar story because when you are on top it's important you score goals.
"We didn't take advantage which gave Aberdeen a lift but we have to keep going because it is still in the melting pot as everyone seems to keep losing."
The full article contains 567 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
