Aberdeen0–3Dundee Utd

Dundee United marched to Aberdeen for what was arguably the biggest game of the season. Aberdeen were coming into the cup tie in good form, having seemed to recently re-find their stride under new management. United therefore were approaching the match as the underdog. Midweek United had suffered a disappointing but understandable 3-0 defeat to Kilmarnock, and while they had beaten Forfar the weekend before, for many fans it had proven to be a frustrating, uninspiring ninety minutes.

The weight of the occasion gave the game a slightly tense, stressful opening. Aberdeen applied early pressure and seized the initial chances. First off, Johnny Hayes crossed confidently into the middle of the United box, finding Callum Hendry in plenty of space, but pressure from Harkes and Robson meant he could only send his shot high over the bar. Two minutes later, Deniz was forced into a double save as Kennedy struck from long range. His powerful shot could only be deflected back into the box and back on to the feet of Hendry who luckily was still unable to finish. At first glance Aberdeen appeared the stronger side, but as the game progressed, the momentum was beginning to shift. In the 18th minute, a long ball from Aberdeen goalkeeper Gary Woods was challenged by Mark Reynolds on the halfway line, who forced the ball to bounce off of an Aberdeen midfielder. The ball ricocheted into the path of Nicky Clark, who quickly passed the ball to Shankland sitting just outside the Aberdeen box. Shankland then calmly played the ball through to Marc McNulty who was sitting free on his right hand side. McNulty took a second at the edge of the box, before placing a shot into the bottom far corner about as coolly as you could have liked. The game was now afoot, and United were now dominating the game’s action, with Harkes and Fuch’s both unlucky to not score. Then, in the 37th minute, the game was seriously about to change, as United won a free kick on the right hand side of the Aberdeen box. Clark played in an almost inch perfect, lofted cross to the Aberdeen back post, and the world stopped. If your experience was anything like mine, time appeared to move in slow motion as Ryan Edwards leapt gracefully into the air, towering over six (Six!) Aberdeen defenders to bullet a header straight into the back of the net. It was a moment that could only really be described as ‘euphoric’, or ‘scenes’, with the only downside being there were no travelling fans in Pittodrie to witness it. The stress of the first half was alleviated almost instantly and United strolled into the second half with a two goal lead.

United showed no signs of stopping or slowing down in the second half. In the 54th minute United rounded the game off with an incredible team goal that will hopefully be remembered as one of their best. It all started from a solid headed clearance from Edwards, thwarting an Aberdeen attack. His clearance proved too powerful for Johnny Hayes who couldn’t keep the ball under control, and his rushed pass fell to Smith in the middle of the United half. Smith then played the ball to Clark, who moved it back to Robson, who then passed the ball up to Smith now on the halfway line. From here Smith laid a pass into the path of Harkes, who played a quick one-two with Marc McNulty, who then drove the ball into the Aberdeen box, before slipping the ball through Wood’s legs to make it 3-0. United saw the game out comfortably with what proved to be one of the best away performances of the season. The good mood of the afternoon was greatly enhanced by the result of the following quarter final later that evening at Ibrox, where Rangers were dropped out of the cup by St Johnstone in exceptional circumstances. As a result, the Scottish Cup had been blown wide open in terms of competition, with every semi-finalist now having a realistic chance of winning the final. There was still a long way to go, but given the circumstances, you would have been forgiven for dreaming.