The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Erase 27 years of pain while nation watches
The Scottish Cup final is the one day when the whole country’s attention is truly focused on a football field in Glasgow.
Over the last 17 years, practically every corner of the land has had its day in the sun – Dingwall, Dunfermline, Dumfries and Gretna – all have looked in from Scotland’s perimeter and emptied themselves into the national stadium for the biggest game of the year.
Now, at long last, it is the turn of the north-east coast to send its deputation to Mount Florida.
It has been too long since Aberdeen supporters were last able to make this most sacred of pilgrimages.
Longer still since they could enjoy it with any hope of success.
Although it was 17 years ago that Dons supporters watched their team play the national cup final with an attacker in goal, it is 10 more since the Red Army got beyond 3.02pm with realistic visions of an Aberdeen captain displaying the trophy from Hampden’s VIP box.
There will be many travelling this year who were not born when, on that occasion, Alex McLeish did just that.
There are plenty of obstacles standing between Ryan Jack and those steps, his own fitness being the least of them.
Aberdeen’s opponents carry such form and reputation into this match that, brutally exhausting though they may be, the Dons would silently settle for a chance at the penalty competition in which McLeish and his 10 triumphant charges all participated.
That is not to say victory is out of the question, but it will require yet another Herculean effort from a team grown used to producing them.
Under Derek McInnes’ control Aberdeen have seldom failed, but on those rare occasions it has never been for the want of application, intelligence or planning.
If the secret to beating Celtic is to be found under any stone in Scotland, McInnes will not leave it unturned.
Nor will it be for lack of support, the Red Army having done their bit and sold out their ticket allocation. After Celtic commandeered what is euphemistically called their traditional end, then complained that it was marginally smaller than the other, it was important that Aberdonian demand could be seen to satisfy supply, so to shift 20,000 tickets in a week – for what is the Dons’ fourth trip to Hampden in seven months and their eighth major semi-final or final in three-and-a-half years – was an aggressive statement by this thriving club.
Now all that is left is for similarly bold accounts of themselves to be made on the day by those on the field and off it.
The latter, with another memorable display in the pipeline, is a near-certainty.
The former, informed by the limp League Cup final performance and the frenzied, if futile, recovery mission in this month’s league meeting, will be exactly what is on McInnes’ drawing board.
They may win, they may not. But they are there, and they are heroes either way and we should all savour this most special of moments in the expectation it will not be another long 17 years before Aberdeen and their supporters can enjoy another memorable day in the sunshine.
“It has been too long since Aberdeen supporters were last able to make this most sacred of pilgrimages”