1990–91 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen F.C.
1990–91 season
Chairman	Dick Donald
Manager	Alex Smith; Jocky Scott
Scottish Premier Division	2nd
Scottish Cup	Third round
Scottish League Cup	Semi final
European Cup Winners' Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Hans Gillhaus (14); All: Hans Gillhaus (15); Eoin Jess (15)
Highest home attendance	24,000 vs. Rangers, 6 October 1990
Lowest home attendance	7,500 vs. New Salamis, 3 October 1990
Average home league attendance	15,553
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1989–90 1991–92 →

Aberdeen F.C. competed in the Scottish Premier Division, Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in season 1990–91.

Overview

The 1990–91 season finished on a low note for Aberdeen, as they led the championship going into the final day of the season but lost to Rangers, which gave the opposition the league title.^[1]^[2] Aberdeen's defence of the Scottish Cup ended at the first hurdle when eventual winners Motherwell defeated them at Pittodrie in January 1991. In the League Cup, Aberdeen lost to Rangers in the semi-final, while in the European Cup Winners' Cup, they lost at the second round stage to Polish club Legia Warsaw. Hans Gillhaus and Eoin Jess finished as joint top scorers with 15 goals each.

Results

Scottish Premier Division

Match Day	Date	Opponent	H/A	Score	Aberdeen Scorer(s)	Attendance
1	25 August	Hibernian	H	2–0	Connor, Gillhaus	15,500
2	1 September	Celtic	A	3–0	Connor, Gillhaus, Mason	45,222
3	8 September	Dunfermline Athletic	A	1–1	D. Robertson	10,200
4	15 September	Dundee United	H	1–1	Bett	15,500
5	22 September	St Mirren	H	2–1	Irvine, Bett	12,500
6	29 September	St Johnstone	A	0–5		8,711
7	6 October	Rangers	H	0–0		24,000
8	13 October	Motherwell	A	0–0		6,602
9	20 October	Heart of Midlothian	H	3–0	Grant, Bett, Gillhaus	14,800
10	27 October	Hibernian	A	1–1	Gillhaus	10,500
11	3 November	Celtic	H	3–0	Jess (2), Gillhaus	21,500
12	10 November	St Mirren	A	4–0	Jess, Gillhaus, Grant, C. Robertson	7,638
13	17 November	St Johnstone	H	0–0		16,000
14	24 November	Dundee United	A	3–2	Jess (3)	12,344
15	1 December	Dunfermline Athletic	H	3–2	Irvine, Mason, Gillhaus	12,000
16	8 December	Heart of Midlothian	A	0–1		9,811
17	15 December	Motherwell	H	1–1	Jess	9,500
18	22 December	Rangers	A	2–2	Bett	37,998
19	26 December	St Mirren	H	1–0	Jess	8,755
20	2 January	Dundee United	H	0–1		19,000
21	5 January	Dunfermline Athletic	A	4–1	Jess (4)	7,422
22	12 January	Hibernian	H	2–0	Cameron, Booth	13,500
23	19 January	Celtic	A	0–1		18,187
24	2 February	Heart of Midlothian	H	5–0	Booth (2), Connor, Gillhaus, Mason	9,500
25	13 February	St Johnstone	A	1–0	Booth	7,046
26	2 March	Rangers	H	1–0	Gillhaus	22,500
27	5 March	Motherwell	A	2–0	Wright, Bett	5,567
28	13 March	Dunfermline Athletic	H	0–0		10,400
29	23 March	Dundee United	A	2–1	van der Ark, Gillhaus	10,643
30	30 March	Hibernian	A	4–2	Booth, Gillhaus (3)	7,400
31	6 April	Celtic	H	1–0	Jess	22,500
32	13 April	Heart of Midlothian	A	4–1	McKimmie, Connor (2), Gillhaus	16,771
33	20 April	Motherwell	H	3–0	van der Ark (2), Connor	14,500
34	27 April	St Mirren	A	1–0	Bett	8,513
35	4 May	St Johnstone	H	2–1	Booth, van der Ark	18,000
36	11 May	Rangers	A	0–2		37,652

Final standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Rangers (C)	36	24	7	5	62	23	+39	55	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Aberdeen	36	22	9	5	62	27	+35	53	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Celtic	36	17	7	12	52	38	+14	41	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Dundee United	36	17	7	12	41	29	+12	41
5	Heart of Midlothian	36	14	7	15	48	55	−7	35

Source: Statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Scottish League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	H/A	Score	Aberdeen Scorer(s)	Attendance
R2	21 August	Queen's Park	A	2–1	Jess, Bett	2,201
R3	29 August	Stranraer	H	4–0	Irvine, Van de Ven, Mason (2)	10,000
QF	5 September	Heart of Midlothian	H	3–0	Van de Ven, Bett, Mason	15,500
SF	26 September	Rangers	N	0–1		40,855

Scottish Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	H/A	Score	Aberdeen Scorer(s)	Attendance
R3	26 January	Motherwell	H	0–1		15,000

European Cup Winners' Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	H/A	Score	Aberdeen Scorer(s)	Attendance
R1 L1	19 September	New Salamis	A	2–0	Mason, Gillhaus	7,000
R1 L2	3 October	New Salamis	H	3–0	Own goal, C. Robertson, Jess	7,500
R2 L1	24 October	Legia Warsaw	H	0–0		16,000
R2 L2	7 November	Legia Warsaw	A	0–1		5,665

Squad

Appearances & Goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier Division		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	MF	SCO	Jim Bett	44	9	36	7	1	0	3	2	4	0
	FW	SCO	Scott Booth	22	6	19	6	1	0	1	0	1	0
	MF	SCO	Ian Cameron	12	1	10	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Bobby Connor	37	6	29	6	1	0	4	0	3	0
	GK	WAL	Andy Dibble	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Lee Gardner	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	NED	Hans Gillhaus	43	15	35	14	1	0	3	0	4	1
	MF	SCO	Brian Grant	39	2	32	2	0	0	4	0	3	0
	DF	SCO	Brian Irvine	38	3	29	2	1	0	4	1	4	0
	MF	SCO	Eoin Jess	35	15	27	13	1	0	4	1	3	1
	MF	ENG	Paul Mason	35	7	26	3	1	0	4	3	4	1
	DF	SCO	Stewart McKimmie	33	1	25	1	0	0	4	0	4	0
	DF	SCO	Alex McLeish (c)	41	0	33	0	1	0	3	0	4	0
	DF	SCO	Willie Miller (c)	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Craig Robertson	11	2	8	1	0	0	1	0	2	1
	DF	SCO	David Robertson	44	1	35	1	1	0	4	0	4	0
	DF	SCO	Ian Robertson	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	GK	NED	Theo Snelders	28	0	21	0	1	0	4	0	2	0
	MF	NED	Peter van de Ven	41	2	32	0	1	0	4	2	4	0
	FW	NED	Willem van der Ark	11	4	11	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Gregg Watson	9	0	7	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	GK	SCO	Michael Watt	12	0	10	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	DF	SCO	Stephen Wright	19	1	18	1	1	0	0	0	0	0

References

^ "Rangers and Aberdeen's epic duel for the 1991 Scottish title – 25 years ago". BBC Sport. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
^ "Flashback: 1991, Mark Walters and Scott Booth recall their part in Smith's maiden final-day triumph". The Herald. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2021.

AFC Heritage Trust
Kevin Stirling. Aberdeen A Centenary History 1903-2003. Desert Island Books 2002. ISBN 1-874287-49-X.

[1] "Rangers and Aberdeen's epic duel for the 1991 Scottish title – 25 years ago". BBC Sport. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2021.

[prem91-2] "Flashback: 1991, Mark Walters and Scott Booth recall their part in Smith's maiden final-day triumph". The Herald. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2021.

[1]

[2]

v t e 1990–91 in Scottish football
« 1989–90 1991–92 »
Domestic leagues	Football League Premier Division First Division Second Division Highland League
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup Final League Cup Final Challenge Cup Final Junior Cup Tennent's Sixes
European competitions	European Cup European Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Cup
Related to national team	Results Euro 1992 qualifying (Group 2)
Club seasons
Premier Division	Aberdeen Celtic Dundee United Dunfermline Athletic Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Motherwell Rangers St. Johnstone St. Mirren
First Division	Airdrieonians Ayr United Brechin City Clyde Clydebank Dundee Falkirk Forfar Athletic Hamilton Academical Kilmarnock Meadowbank Thistle Morton Partick Thistle Raith Rovers
Second Division	Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Arbroath Berwick Rangers Cowdenbeath Dumbarton East Fife East Stirlingshire Montrose Queen of the South Queen's Park Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer