Aberdeen v Rangers rivalry: 'I remember that game well - ever since it's not let itself down'

Frivolous may be Scottish football’s word of the week but it’s not one that’s ever been used in relation to the Aberdeen versus Rangers fixture at Pittodrie. It is never anything but serious business whenever these teams meet, especially in the north-east where the home fans beseech their heroes to expend every ounce of effort and energy to try to defeat the team from Ibrox. There have been cups celebrated with less vigour than seemingly insignificant home wins over Rangers.

Aberdeen may one day have a natural, geographical nemesis in Cove Rangers but for now it is their namesake from Glasgow that sets the pulses racing and the temperatures rising. The genesis of the rivalry is unclear – Aberdeen’s rise under Alex Ferguson and the Neil Simpson-Ian Durrant incident are both cited as trigger points – but, regardless of the back story, it is here to stay. With Sky Sports placing Sunday afternoon’s game into the 4.30pm kick-off slot usually reserved for English football’s game of the day, the entire country can, in theory, find out for themselves what all the fuss is about.

Michael Beale needs no refresher course. The Rangers manager had not long moved to Scotland in the summer of 2018 as part of Steven Gerrard’s coaching staff when the opening league match of the season sent them to Pittodrie. Within 12 minutes Alfredo Morelos had been sent off, James Tavernier then scored a penalty before Bruce Anderson plundered a 93rd-minute equaliser for the Dons. It left a distinct impression.

“I remember that game well,” reflected Beale. “We took centre and then there was a long ball, a volley and a header. The next six things were all in the air after the initial ball. I was thinking ‘what is going on here?’ And then when the ball is on the floor there’s a yellow card. I thought ‘wow.’ It also gave me an idea of the rivalry straight away. And ever since it has not let itself down.”

Rangers manager Michael Beale shouts instructions during the 3-2 win last December in Aberdeen.

Like Gerrard, Beale’s first away game as Rangers manager also took him to Pittodrie. A team accused of a lack of heart and fight under Giovanni van Bronckhorst went into injury-time 2-1 down only for Scott Arfield to pilfer goals in the 95th and 97th minutes to secure a scarcely believable away win. It was only the second match of Beale’s tenure but set an early bar. Rangers still haven’t been beaten by anyone apart from Celtic since.

“When we scored and were drawing I was particularly angry because it was the minimum that we should have got from the game,” he recalled. “We scored and then it got into the ridiculous stage with the two goals so late. But the game is played for 90-plus minutes so we shouldn’t be thinking we were lucky to get those goals. Maybe Aberdeen got a bit nervous with the result they [thought they] had. We kept going and ultimately we got there in the end. We threw a few spanners in the works, brought on Scotty and had more strikers on the pitch. We played a bit reckless and ultimately it came off.”

Four months on and motivation springs from a different place for Rangers this time around. No longer chasing a championship that was effectively already a lost cause by the time Beale took over, this trip north instead serves as the final tune-up before next weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic. Whoever starts on Sunday afternoon will be implored to demonstrate they also deserve to feature at Hampden.

“We know next weekend is a big game, and it has been a big game since we won the quarter-final, it has been there in the calendar,” confirms Beale. “But what we have managed to do since I’ve come in is just play the game that is in front of us. There are three or four shirts up for grabs at the moment [for the semi-final]. For example, John Souttar has come into the team and performed quite well I think with Ben [Davies]. So, that is a completely new partnership, I don’t think they had played together before last week. Neither of them wants to lose their shirt but Connor [Goldson] wants to come back in and play.

Aberdeen's Bruce Anderson scores a late equaliser against Rangers, which was current Ibrox manager Michael Beale's first experience of the rivalry.

“Ryan Kent is out of the team at the moment, young Rabbi [Matondo] came on last week and got an assist, and these last seven games are hugely important for Rabbi because he has not been fit. Ridvan [Yilmaz] wants to grab the shirt from Borna, but Borna doesn’t want to give it up. So, there’s a little bit in the air. And if you give someone an opportunity, then now is the time to play well, for sure.”

Aberdeen have their own race to run as they look to build on a sequence of six consecutive victories under the interim charge of Barry Robson to strengthen their hold on third place. The four-game ban handed down to Graeme Shinnie – the final one for what the Scottish FA deemed a “frivolous” appeal – deprives them of a key midfielder as they seek a first home win over Rangers for seven years.

Ylber Ramadani may return from illness to fill that void, Ross McCrorie could be moved centrally from his usual right wing-back berth or Connor Barron might come in from the cold for his first start since December to replace Shinnie.