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1995 League Cup Final - 20 Years Ago Today

Henry

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Henry

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The 1995 League Cup Victory - 20 Years On…

Today (Thursday) is the 20th anniversary of the Dons' Coca-Cola League Cup win in 1995. Hard to believe it was 20 years ago, it is also easy to forget that a few months before, the club had almost experienced disaster….
The introduction of three points for a win came into force for the first time in 1994 and the immediate impact on Aberdeen was almost disastrous. The Dons' proud record of never having been relegated in their history came under serious threat in 1995. With just about everyone outside of Pittodrie anticipating the Dons demise with some relish, the club and fans answered the call in the closing weeks to preserve the clubs' status at the expense of rivals Dundee United, who took the drop to the First Division.
Under Roy Aitken, the Dons had shown enough to suggest that relegation issues would not involve Aberdeen in the future but despite having three Scotland internationals in their side, it was no easy task for the Dons. During the summer of 1995, the club made improvements to the squad but the general opinion was that Aberdeen had to re-establish the club to its rightful position in the game.
That came in the League Cup in 1995 as the Dons won the competition for the sixth time. Aberdeen opened with a comfortable 3-1 win over St Mirren at Pittodrie. It was the Dons' opening game of the season and renewed optimism was the key. Scott Booth was amongst the goals, his second coming courtesy of a dreadful blunder from St Mirren keeper Campbell Money.
Falkirk were beaten 4-1 at Brockville four days after the Dons had won 3-2 in the league. After Falkirk keeper Parks had been sent off for handling outside of the box, the Dons ran riot. A tough quarterfinal tie went into extra time against Motherwell at Fir Park, the Dons eventually winning 2-1. Michael Watt had replaced Theo Snelders, who was on paternity leave, and Watt kept his place in the side. That set up a semi-final clash against bitter rivals Rangers. Eoin Jess was in majestic form and with Paul Bernard looking every bit a £1m player, it was in midfield that Aberdeen controlled the game. It was in that game at Hampden that Eoin Jess performed his famous 'keepy-up' routine as the Dons defeated a Paul Gascoigne inspired Rangers side 2-1. Aberdeen had a long and distinguished history in the League Cup and were the first winners of the inaugural 1946 competition. Success followed in 1955, 1976, 1985 and 1989 Finals. Not for the first time, the Dons went into the final against Dundee as hot favourites. The Dens Park side were in the First Division back then and Hampden was the venue for the Dons' impressive 2-0 win. Scott Booth failed a last minute fitness test and Duncan Shearer was given a starting place up front alongside Billy Dodds, whose two goals against Rangers in the semi-final were crucial in the route to the final. Dodds opened the scoring in the first half and when Duncan Shearer headed a second early in the second half, there was no way back for Dundee.
The Dens Park side could barely get out of their own half as Aberdeen dominated for long spells and never looked in danger of giving anything away. Dundee were a decent side with captain Jim Duffy still around and the emerging Neil McCann was their biggest threat. McCann came up against the experienced Stewart McKimmie and was never given any opportunity.
Stephen Glass was voted the man of the match. The Aberdeen support took up most of the ground and the Hampden stands were a sea of red and white as the Red Army celebrated a sweet success given the troubles the club had endured in recent months.
The traditional return home by the team had to be postponed a week as the final came on the Sunday.
The following Sunday, captain Stewart McKimmie led the players through a very wet city. None of the fans who stood in the rain that afternoon would have thought they would have had to wait close to 20 years for the next bus to come down Union Street.
26th November 1995 | Aberdeen 2:0 Dundee | Coca Cola Cup Final at Hampden Park
Aberdeen; Watt, McKimmie, Glass, Grant, Inglis, Smith, Miller, Shearer, Bernard, Dodds, Jess. Subs; Robertson, Hetherston.
Dundee; Pageaud, J Duffy, McQueen, Manley, Wieghorst, C Duffy, Shaw, Vrto, Tosh, Hamilton, McCann.
Attendance; 33,096
AFC Former Players Club
Both goalscorers in that final, Billy Dodds and Duncan Shearer, spoke to Sean Graham recently to give us their views and memories 20 years on. Sean also spoke to Eoin Jess, who played such a big part in the cup success, particularly in the semi-final against Rangers.
BILLY DODDS
"After beating St. Mirren and Falkirk, in the quarter-final we knocked out Motherwell after extratime, a game where big John Inglis and I got the goals before going on to meet Rangers in the semi-final.
"Rangers had brought in some big players like Gazza and everyone expected us to lose that match. I scored both in a famous 2-1 win which set us up for a return trip to Hampden to face my old club Dundee.
"The actually final wasn't a great game but it was great for us to get the first trophy back to Aberdeen since 1990, when the club won the cup double. Being involved with the club in a cup final was fantastic. We had gone on a good cup run and we had played well in these matches on the road to the final so we deserved to be there. Everyone really enjoyed the day.
"At the end of the day, that's what the Aberdeen fans want now - some cup success. They know that it would be incredibly difficult to win the league, so winning a cup gives the fans something to cheer about and I am just happy that I played in an Aberdeen side that was able to do that".
DUNCAN SHEARER
"I remember it as if it was yesterday! It was excellent. I remember the day before as we trained on a park and I wasn't supposed to be playing as it was Billy and Scott that had possession of the two places up front, but Tommy Craig had come out and walked past me during the training session and said "Boothy is out for tomorrow, you'll be in".
"My thought process was at the time, I was 31, 32 and this could be one of my last chances to get a winners medal. I was obviously sad for Scott but delighted for myself and it was Billy and I who managed to get the goals in the final.
"Under Willie Miller we had already been up the stairs at Hampden after being beaten by Rangers in the Skol Cup Final. They beat us again that season 2-1 in the Scottish Cup Final at Celtic Park when Hampden was being revamped. I remember Rangers got a couple of early goals that day, it was also a really hot day.
"I had already picked up a couple of losers medals, so I was delighted to pick up a winners medal. You could see where Graeme Souness was coming from when he said, "I threw my losers medals in the bin!"
"It was great to be able to finally win a cup for ourselves and the fans. We went back to the hotel and celebrated there and then we went back to Pittodrie in the morning and went on the open top bus and went through the town the following week.
"I was thinking this is the League Cup and this has got its own importance but there was still thousands of Aberdeen fans round the streets and it was nice to do it, but I can just imagine what these Gothenburg boys went through, albeit it was a scale ten times the size of what we were going through at the time".
EOIN JESS
"Going into the semi-final against Rangers, we felt very confident but knew it would be a huge task to win the game. We knew we had to be at our best but you have to be confident and go into any game thinking that you can win it. It helped that we had good professionals that had experience playing against the Old Firm.
"We also had a very big squad which meant in these big games, there were always going to be players that have the disappointment of being left out and it is difficult. It is important to have strong characters that react in the right way and be pleased that the result goes our way.
"Beating Rangers certainly gave the players a massive boast to our confidence. When you want to win a trophy you normally have to beat one of the Old Firm along the way. No disrespect to Dundee, but we knew we had a great chance of lifting the trophy.
"I always enjoyed playing against Rangers and Celtic. The big matches and the style of the play suited my game. You have to be at your best to play against a player like Gazza. It was nice to get the upper hand on him on this occasion and gain his respect as a player.
"After a winning run on route to the final, we prepared as normal as possible. Players often do not like change and like to keep it as if it is was any other game. The manager did this in the build-up.
"The game itself wasn't a classic, but goals from Duncan Shearer and Billy Dodds meant the Dons had won the Coca-Cola Cup and that was all that mattered for the players as we knew we were big favourites and with that tag, there was a little more pressure. So I think there was an element of relief that we had won the trophy after a few barren years but not only for ourselves, it was great to win it for the fans. We always had a great travelling support and we needed to win a trophy for them.
"You can imagine how the celebrations went, but some of us had a few drinks too many!
"I have many great memories of that cup run and that day in particular, but the performance of Stephen Glass in the final stands out for me, he played very well and rightly got the Man of the Match.
"I could not believe that we would be the last Dons team to win anything until we beat Inverness on penalties to land the League Cup under Derek McInnes last year. I thought it would have been a lot earlier. It would be nice if we can be involved in a lot more cup finals in the foreseeable future".

 

 

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The Oxford Don Newbie

The Oxford Don

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20 years ago!? :hypno:

 

Man I now feel old.

 

Remember this like it was yesterday, my main memory is of not being there because I left it far too late to get tickets, so had to make do with staying at home in Perth and watching on the telly. The outcome was never in doubt after the first (slightly bizarre, IIRC) goal went in.

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Clydeside_Sheep Mentor

Clydeside_Sheep

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20 years wow.

 

I remember thinking it would be the start of getting back to "business as usual" trophy wise, little did I know.............

 

And I remember feeling serenely confident we would win, much moreso than any other final Ive seen us in.

 

A nice memory but could have done without being reminded of that hideous strip!

 

EDIT - mind at the time thinking it has been ages between that win and our previous 9-8 penalty triumph over the micks some 5 years before. Now 20 years seems like the blink of an eye, never mind just 5!

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Henry Newbie

Henry

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Where are they now?

 

Michael Watt - works for Investec Structured Products in Glasgow

Stewart McKimmie - does he still write for the EE?

Stephen Glass - youth coach at TFCA in North Carolina

Brian Grant - Academy manager at Dundee United

John Inglis - now an agent

Gary Smith - now a fireman

Joe Miller - not sure, seems to pop-up in the Evening Times and the like when they need a quote about Celtic or Aberdeen. Founded the Celtic Former Players Association.

Duncan Shearer - youth coach at Caley

Paul Bernard - not sure what he does now, retired at Drogheda in Ireland about ten years ago

Billy Dodds - assistant manager at County

Eoin Jess - fuck knows. He was coach at Forest and Peterborough, since left. Graham Hunter mentioned something about him moving to Barcelona.

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RUL Grand Master

RUL

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I remember the posties went on strike the week before the game and a lot of worrying about getting tickets but it all worked out fine.

 

Like the players said the final wasn't the best and I don't even think there was much celebration, not compared to Inverness final. There was a feeling we would beat Dundee and also i think we were in the top 2 of the league at the time. Up until Hearts Semi Final (scots cup same year) there was a general feeling that we were going to finish the 1990's as we had begun, competing for honours, little did we know what the following season was about to unleash.

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The Boofon Grand Master

The Boofon

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Where are they now?

 

Michael Watt - works for Investec Structured Products in Glasgow

Stewart McKimmie - does he still write for the EE?

Stephen Glass - youth coach at TFCA in North Carolina

Brian Grant - Academy manager at Dundee United

John Inglis - now an agent

Gary Smith - now a fireman

Joe Miller - not sure, seems to pop-up in the Evening Times and the like when they need a quote about Celtic or Aberdeen. Founded the Celtic Former Players Association.

Duncan Shearer - youth coach at Caley

Paul Bernard - not sure what he does now, retired at Drogheda in Ireland about ten years ago

Billy Dodds - assistant manager at County

Eoin Jess - fuck knows. He was coach at Forest and Peterborough, since left. Graham Hunter mentioned something about him moving to Barcelona.

He was in Portsoy on Monday morning heading towards the Co-op.

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RAZOR Grand Master

RAZOR

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Where are they now?

 

Michael Watt - works for Investec Structured Products in Glasgow

Stewart McKimmie - does he still write for the EE?

Stephen Glass - youth coach at TFCA in North Carolina

Brian Grant - Academy manager at Dundee United

John Inglis - now an agent

Gary Smith - now a fireman

Joe Miller - not sure, seems to pop-up in the Evening Times and the like when they need a quote about Celtic or Aberdeen. Founded the Celtic Former Players Association.

Duncan Shearer - youth coach at Caley

Paul Bernard - not sure what he does now, retired at Drogheda in Ireland about ten years ago

Billy Dodds - assistant manager at County

Eoin Jess - fuck knows. He was coach at Forest and Peterborough, since left. Graham Hunter mentioned something about him moving to Barcelona.

McKimmie was a recruitment consultant a few years ago. Not sure where he is nowadays

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Guest the shepherd

Guest the shepherd

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Where are they now?

 

Michael Watt - works for Investec Structured Products in Glasgow

Stewart McKimmie - does he still write for the EE?

Stephen Glass - youth coach at TFCA in North Carolina

Brian Grant - Academy manager at Dundee United

John Inglis - now an agent

Gary Smith - now a fireman

Joe Miller - not sure, seems to pop-up in the Evening Times and the like when they need a quote about Celtic or Aberdeen. Founded the Celtic Former Players Association.

Duncan Shearer - youth coach at Caley

Paul Bernard - not sure what he does now, retired at Drogheda in Ireland about ten years ago

Billy Dodds - assistant manager at County

Eoin Jess - fuck knows. He was coach at Forest and Peterborough, since left. Graham Hunter mentioned something about him moving to Barcelona.

Eoin Jess would walk into the current Barcelona team.

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Guest the shepherd

Guest the shepherd

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If they were to expand their CV's to include this then they would be a lot more appealing to potential employers. Especially in todays market.

Thainstone Market?

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