1987–88 Aberdeen F.C. season
# 1987–88 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen F.C. competed in the Scottish Premier Division, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and UEFA Cup in season 1987–88.

## Overview

Aberdeen finished fourth in the Premier Division for the second successive season. They reached the League Cup final, but lost 5–3 on penalty kicks after a 3–3 draw against Rangers in October. In the Scottish Cup, they lost in the semi-final after a second replay defeat to Dundee United. Aberdeen's UEFA Cup campaign ended in a second round defeat to Dutch club Feyenoord on the away goals rule, after defeating Irish club Bohemian F.C. in the first round.

New signings included Peter Nicholas from Luton Town, Gary Hackett, Tom Jones, Keith Edwards and Charlie Nicholas, who joined from Arsenal in December 1987.

## Results

### Scottish Premier Division

| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 8 August | Dundee | A | 1–1 | Dodds | 10,223 |
| 2 | 12 August | Morton | H | 3–1 | Simpson, Dodds, J. Miller | 8,000 |
| 3 | 15 August | Rangers | H | 2–0 | Dodds, P. Nicholas | 22,500 |
| 4 | 22 August | Motherwell | A | 1–0 | Dodds | 4,858 |
| 5 | 29 August | Dundee United | H | 1–1 | Bett | 16,000 |
| 6 | 5 September | Falkirk | A | 2–2 | J. Miller, Falconer | 5,327 |
| 7 | 12 September | St Mirren | H | 2–0 | J. Miller, Falconer | 11,000 |
| 8 | 19 September | Celtic | A | 2–2 | J. Miller, P. Nicholas | 38,944 |
| 9 | 26 September | Hibernian | A | 2–0 | Grant, Falconer | 10,500 |
| 10 | 3 October | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 3–0 | P. Nicholas, Falconer, Edwards | 11,313 |
| 11 | 7 October | Heart of Midlothian | A | 1–2 | Bett | 17,741 |
| 12 | 10 October | Dundee | H | 0–0 | | 12,500 |
| 13 | 17 October | Dundee United | A | 0–0 | | 11,281 |
| 14 | 28 October | St Mirren | A | 3–1 | Bett (2), Falconer | 4,707 |
| 15 | 31 October | Celtic | H | 0–1 | | 21,000 |
| 16 | 7 November | Morton | A | 0–0 | | 3,000 |
| 17 | 14 November | Heart of Midlothian | H | 0–0 | | 20,000 |
| 18 | 17 November | Rangers | A | 1–0 | W. Miller | 41,371 |
| 19 | 21 November | Motherwell | H | 1–0 | Dodds | 9,700 |
| 20 | 24 November | Hibernian | H | 1–1 | Edwards | 9,000 |
| 21 | 28 November | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 3–0 | Wright, Jones | 7,500 |
| 22 | 5 December | Dundee | A | 2–1 | Wright (2), Dodds | 8,799 |
| 23 | 9 December | Falkirk | H | 3–1 | Wright, Dodds, Bett | 8,000 |
| 24 | 12 December | Morton | H | 4–0 | Connor, Dodds, Bett (2) | 8,000 |
| 25 | 16 December | St Mirren | H | 2–1 | W. Miller, Bett | 6,500 |
| 26 | 19 December | Celtic | A | 0–0 | | 37,721 |
| 27 | 26 December | Falkirk | A | 2–0 | McLeish, Hewitt | 5,000 |
| 28 | 2 January | Dundee United | H | 0–0 | | 21,500 |
| 29 | 9 January | Hibernian | A | 0–0 | | 16,000 |
| 30 | 16 January | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 1–0 | Falconer | 20,000 |
| 31 | 23 January | Motherwell | A | 1–2 | C. Nicholas | 6,584 |
| 32 | 6 February | Rangers | H | 1–2 | Bett | 22,500 |
| 33 | 13 February | Heart of Midlothian | A | 2–2 | Bett, Jones | 18,817 |
| 34 | 27 February | Dundee | H | 1–0 | Dodds | 13,500 |
| 35 | 5 March | St Mirren | A | 0–0 | | 4,858 |
| 36 | 19 March | Dundee United | A | 2–0 | Jones, C. Nicholas | 10,403 |
| 37 | 26 March | Falkirk | H | 2–0 | Falconer, W. Miller | 9,410 |
| 38 | 30 March | Celtic | H | 0–1 | | 22,700 |
| 39 | 2 April | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 1–1 | Falconer | 7,132 |
| 40 | 16 April | Morton | A | 2–0 | C. Nicholas, Porteous | 3,200 |
| 41 | 23 April | Heart of Midlothian | H | 0–0 | | 10,500 |
| 42 | 30 April | Rangers | A | 1–0 | Irvine | 36,010 |
| 43 | 4 May | Hibernian | H | 0–2 | | 7,000 |
| 44 | 7 May | Motherwell | H | 0–0 | | 5,500 |

**Final standings**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Heart of Midlothian | 44 | 23 | 16 | 5 | 74 | 32 | +42 | 62 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Rangers | 44 | 26 | 8 | 10 | 85 | 34 | +51 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 44 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 56 | 25 | +31 | 59 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Dundee United | 44 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 54 | 47 | +7 | 47 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 6 | Hibernian | 44 | 12 | 19 | 13 | 41 | 42 | −1 | 43 | |

### Scottish League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R2 | 18 August | Brechin City | H | 5–1 | Irvine, J. Miller (3), Hewitt | 9,000 |
| R3 | 26 August | St Johnstone | H | 3–0 | Dodds (2), Bett | 10,800 |
| QF | 1 September | Celtic | H | 1–0 | Bett | 24,000 |
| SF | 23 September | Dundee | N | 2–0 | Irvine, Connor | 22,034 |
| F | 25 October | Rangers | N | 3–3 (Rangers win 5–3 on penalties) | Hewitt, Bett, Falconer | 71,961 |

### Scottish Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R3 | 30 January | St Johnstone | A | 1–0 | Connor | 10,000 |
| R4 | 20 February | Hamilton Academical | A | 2–0 | Dodds, Nicholas | 7,270 |
| QF | 12 March | Clyde | H | 5–0 | Falconer, Dodds (3), Edwards | 12,000 |
| SF | 9 April | Dundee United | N | 0–0 | | 20,488 |
| SF R | 13 April | Dundee United | N | 1–1 | Nicholas | 17,288 |
| SF R2 | 20 April | Dundee United | N | 0–1 | | 19,048 |

### UEFA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 L1 | 15 September | Bohemians | A | 0–0 | | 10,000 |
| R1 L2 | 30 September | Bohemians | H | 1–0 | Bett | 9,950 |
| R2 L1 | 21 October | Feyenoord | H | 2–1 | Falconer, J. Miller | 16,000 |
| R2 L2 | 4 November | Feyenoord | A | 0–1 | | 26,390 |

## 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 |
| | MF | SCO | Jim Bett | 50 | 14 | 38 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| | MF | SCO | Bobby Connor | 45 | 3 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Davie Dodds | 30 | 15 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Keith Edwards | 10 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Willie Falconer | 46 | 11 | 36 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| | MF | SCO | Lee Gardner | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Brian Grant | 11 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Stevie Gray | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Gary Hackett | 22 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Scott Harvie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | John Hewitt | 49 | 3 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Brian Irvine | 22 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tom Jones | 31 | 3 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | GK | SCO | Jim Leighton | 59 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Michael McArthur | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Stewart McKimmie | 55 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Alex McLeish | 47 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Joe Miller | 23 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| | DF | SCO | Willie Miller (c) | 57 | 3 | 42 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Charlie Nicholas | 22 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | WAL | Peter Nicholas | 54 | 3 | 39 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Ian Porteous | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | David Robertson | 33 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Neil Simpson | 24 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Peter Weir | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Paul Wright | 9 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
