1979–80 Aberdeen F.C. season
# 1979–80 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen competed in the Scottish Premier Division, Scottish Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in season 1979–80. They finished first in the Premier Division, the club's first Premier Division title and second Scottish league championship. In the cups, they reached the Scottish Cup Semi final, losing to Rangers, and lost the League Cup Final after a replay against Dundee United. In Europe, they were drawn against Eintracht Frankfurt, losing 1–2 on aggregate over two legs in the first round.

## Results

### Friendlies

In July 1979, Aberdeen embarked on a tour of Denmark, playing three games. This was followed by friendly matches against three Scottish clubs, and home games against English clubs Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur. During the season, friendly matches were played against Leicester City, Rothes and an Arbroath Select.

| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 July | Kolding IF | A | 2–1 | Archibald, Harper | 0 |
| 19 July | Randers | A | 1–0 | Jarvie | 0 |
| 21 July | IK Skovbakken | A | 7–0 | Archibald (2), McGhee (2), Garner, Cooper, Jarvie | 0 |
| 30 July | Buckie Thistle | A | 1–0 | Watson | 0 |
| 2 August | Coventry City | H | 4–1 | Miller, Strachan, McGhee, Own goal | 0 |
| 4 August | Cowdenbeath | A | 3–0 | McGhee, Jarvie, Rougvie | 0 |
| 8 August | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–0 | Archibald, McGhee | 0 |
| 9 August | Nairn County | A | 5–1 | Jarvie (2), Harper, Scanlon, Cowan | 0 |
| 5 September | Leicester City | H | 1–1 | Watson | 0 |
| 24 February | Rothes | A | 4–1 | Davidson (2), Scanlon, Hamilton | 0 |
| 16 March | Arbroath Select | A | 2–3 | McGhee, Jarvie, Rougvie | 0 |

### Scottish Premier Division

| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1. | 11 August | Partick Thistle | A | 0–1 | | 7,500 |
| 2. | 18 August | Hibernian | H | 3–0 | Archibald, McMaster (2) | 10,300 |
| 3. | 25 August | Dundee United | A | 3–1 | McGhee, Archibald, Harper | 10,982 |
| 4. | 8 September | Morton | A | 2–3 | Archibald, McMaster | 5,540 |
| 5. | 15 September | Rangers | H | 3–1 | McMaster, Strachan, Rougvie | 23,000 |
| 6. | 22 September | Celtic | H | 1–2 | Strachan | 23,000 |
| 7. | 29 September | Dundee | A | 4–0 | Archibald, Harper, Jarvie (2) | 11,817 |
| 8. | 6 October | St Mirren | A | 2–2 | Archibald, Harper | 9,163 |
| 9. | 13 October | Kilmarnock | A | 3–1 | Strachan, Jarvie, Scanlon | 12,000 |
| 10. | 20 October | Partick Thistle | H | 1–1 | Davidson | 12,000 |
| 11. | 27 October | Hibernian | A | 1–1 | Watson | 7,000 |
| 12. | 3 November | Dundee United | H | 0–3 | | 12,500 |
| 13. | 10 November | Morton | H | 1–2 | McLeish | 10,400 |
| 14. | 17 November | Rangers | A | 1–0 | Archibald | 18,500 |
| 15. | 15 December | St Mirren | H | 2–0 | McLeish, Hamilton | 5,000 |
| 16. | 5 January | Morton | A | 0–1 | | 6,000 |
| 17. | 12 January | Rangers | H | 3–2 | Archibald, Strachan, Hamilton | 18,600 |
| 18. | 19 January | Celtic | H | 0–0 | | 24,000 |
| 19. | 2 February | Dundee | A | 3–1 | Jarvie (2), Hamilton | 7,661 |
| 20. | 9 February | St Mirren | A | 1–1 | Strachan | 7,900 |
| 21. | 23 February | Kilmarnock | H | 1–2 | Archibald | 9,600 |
| 22. | 1 March | Partick Thistle | H | 1–1 | Jarvie | 9,000 |
| 23. | 15 March | Dundee United | H | 2–1 | Watson, Jarvie | 10,000 |
| 24. | 19 March | Dundee | H | 3–0 | Watson, Jarvie, Miller | 7,000 |
| 25. | 22 March | Morton | H | 1–0 | Jarvie | 7,250 |
| 26. | 29 March | Rangers | A | 2–2 | Jarvie, Archibald | 20,000 |
| 27. | 1 April | Kilmarnock | A | 4–0 | McGhee (2), Strachan, Kennedy | 5,000 |
| 28. | 5 April | Celtic | A | 2–1 | McGhee, Jarvie | 40,000 |
| 29. | 7 April | Dundee | H | 2–1 | Strachan, Jarvie | 11,600 |
| 30. | 16 April | Hibernian | H | 1–1 | Watson | 15,000 |
| 31. | 19 April | Kilmarnock | A | 3–1 | Strachan, McGhee, Archibald | 3,000 |
| 32. | 23 April | Celtic | A | 3–1 | Strachan, McGhee, Archibald | 48,000 |
| 33. | 26 April | St Mirren | H | 2–0 | Rougvie, Scanlon | 19,000 |
| 34. | 29 April | Dundee United | A | 1–1 | Strachan | 12,954 |
| 35. | 3 May | Hibernian | A | 5–0 | McGhee, Archibald, Watson, Scanlon (2) | 12,921 |
| 36. | 7 May | Partick Thistle | A | 1–1 | MacKinnon | 7,000 |

**Final standings**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Aberdeen (C) | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 68 | 36 | +32 | 48 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 61 | 38 | +23 | 47 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | St Mirren | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 56 | 49 | +7 | 42 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dundee United | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 43 | 30 | +13 | 37 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Rangers | 36 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 37 | |

**Results by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | A |
| Result | L | W | W | L | W | L | W | D | W | D | D | L | L | W | W | L | W | D | W | D | L | D | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | D |
| Position | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

### Drybrough Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| QF | 28 July | Kilmarnock | A | 0–1 | | 0 |

### Scottish League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 L1 | 15 August | Arbroath | H | 4–0 | McGhee, McMaster, Davidson, Jarvie | 6,700 |
| R1 L2 | 22 August | Arbroath | A | 1–2 | Black | 9,000 |
| R2 L1 | 29 August | Meadowbank Thistle | A | 5–0 | Garner, McGhee, McMaster (2), Strachan | 1,200 |
| R2 L2 | 1 September | Meadowbank Thistle | H | 2–2 | McMaster, Strachan | 6,000 |
| R3 L1 | 26 September | Rangers | H | 3–1 | McLeish, Garner, Harper | 18,000 |
| R3 L2 | 10 October | Rangers | A | 2–0 | Strachan, Harper | 28,000 |
| QF L1 | 31 October | Celtic | H | 3–2 | Archibald (3) | 24,000 |
| QF L2 | 24 November | Celtic | A | 1–0 | McGhee | 39,000 |
| SF | 1 December | Morton | N | 2–1 | McGhee, Strachan | 11,896 |
| F | 8 December | Dundee United | N | 0–0 | | 27,173 |
| F R | 12 December | Dundee United | N | 0–3 | | 28,933 |

### Scottish Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R3 | 26 January | Arbroath | A | 1–1 | Archibald | 5,764 |
| R3 R | 30 January | Arbroath | H | 5–0 | Archibald, Scanlon (3), Hamilton | 9,127 |
| R4 | 16 February | Airdrieonians | H | 8–0 | Scanlon, McMaster, Miller, Strachan, Archibald (4) | 10,410 |
| QF | 8 March | Partick Thistle | A | 2–1 | Archibald, Jarvie | 8,584 |
| SF | 12 April | Rangers | N | 0–1 | | 44,000 |

### UEFA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 L1 | 19 September | Eintracht Frankfurt | H | 1–1 | Harper | 20,000 |
| R1 L2 | 3 October | Eintracht Frankfurt | A | 0–1 | | 20,000 |

## Squad

### Appearances & Goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier Division | Premier Division | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | SCO | Bobby Clark | 52 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | GK | SCO | Jim Leighton | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Doug Considine | 25 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Neil Cooper | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Willie Garner | 34 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Stuart Kennedy | 53 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Alex McLeish | 52 | 3 | 35 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Willie Miller (c) | 46 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Doug Rougvie | 37 | 2 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Doug Bell | 16 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Duncan Davidson | 13 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Derek Hamilton | 19 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | John McMaster | 51 | 9 | 33 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Ian Scanlon | 42 | 8 | 29 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Gordon Strachan | 51 | 15 | 33 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Andy Watson | 20 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Steve Archibald | 52 | 22 | 34 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Joe Harper | 20 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | SCO | John Hewitt | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Mark McGhee | 29 | 10 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Drew Jarvie | 44 | 14 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Dom Sullivan | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Unofficial Appearances & Goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Drybrough Cup | Drybrough Cup |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | SCO | Bobby Clark | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Doug Rougvie | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Willie Miller (c) | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Doug Considine | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Willie Garner | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Derek Hamilton | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Alex McLeish | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Dom Sullivan | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Gordon Strachan | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Duncan Davidson | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Drew Jarvie | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Steve Archibald | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Mark McGhee | 1 | 0 |
