League Cup semi preview: Aberdeen v. Dundee United

By: Ian Rose | February 4th, 2008

One half of the league cup final is set, with Rangers taking a clinical victory over Hearts 2-0. The other finalist will be decided tomorrow, as Dundee United travel to Pittodrie to take on a weary Aberdeen side that is still alive in all four competitions. Here’s a look at what we can expect.

First, a disclaimer. As I’ve mentioned a few times in this blog, the weather in Scotland continues to be a problem, and led to the postponement of two more Scottish Cup matches this past weekend, so there is no guarantee that this match will be played. Let’s hope that the SFA are giving a cup semifinal its due attention and at least have the decency to postpone it earlier this time, so the sizable United support don’t have to truck themselves up to Aberdeen for nothing.

For those that haven’t spent much time watching Scottish football, you might not know much about the history of these teams and the connections between them. Everyone’s heard of the Old Firm, but in the 1980’s, a new set of teams came to the forefront of the Scottish game, Aberdeen and Dundee United, the so-called New Firm. This was the period that saw Aberdeen win not only the league but also the Cup Winners’ Cup, and United made it to the UEFA Cup final and took a league championship of their own.

On to the match itself. This is one of the most competitive fixtures imaginable in Scotland right now, with both teams doing reasonably well in the league. Aberdeen sees fixtures coming right and left in the next few months, with two domestic cups and the UEFA Cup still within their reach. United are hardly sitting idle either, having just played St. Mirren to a scoreless draw in the Scottish Cup to force another replay. Both sides are going into this match missing a key playmaker. Dons have lost Jamie Smith to a re-injured hamstring, while United, more famously, have lost Barry Robson to the ever-looming Celtic checkbook. Their draw with St. Mirren was a sign that the loss of their prolific midfielder (not to mention captain) will take a while to get over. Robson netted 11 of United’s total of 37 goals before his departure, and all offensive pressure will now fall to Irish striker Noel Hunt, who sits on ten himself so far. Time will tell whether Hunt has what it takes to step up and take control of this offense, or whether Dundee United is now a team with a single meaningful weapon, which every team will know how to mark and control.

To me, the edge has to be given to Aberdeen. Both Dons and United have thrived this year at home, and struggled on the road, and the more extreme case of this is seen in the Tangerines’ travels. United has lost 7 of 12 on the road, and allowed an average of two goals per road match. With the form of Dons keeper Jamie Langfield, one might very well be all the Dons need to move on and face Rangers. If a cup final wasn’t enough motivation, the chance to rob Rangers of a trophy will certainly add to the allure for Aberdeen. The rivalry between Celtic and Rangers is greater and more famous, but Rangers and Dons are two teams (and two groups of support) who genuinely don’t care for each other.

Prediction: 1-0 to Aberdeen.