Andy and the Dons had to keep dodging missiles
there will be no fans present when the next games take place in scotland.
Supporters here can often be just as energetic as the men on the pitch, but it’s rare for exuberance in the stands to bring matches to a halt.
Aberdeen found that crowds abroad could be a lot crazier when they went on a post-season tour in May, 1972.
They had two matches in two countries abandoned.
This was an eventful month-long trip for young Dons goalie, Andy Geoghegan.
He had broken into the first-team at Pittodrie earlier in the season and recorded five shutouts in six games.
Keeping the No. 1 spot wasn’t easy, and the main reason explained why he got the nod for the first few fixtures of the summer tour.
Andy recalled: “We went to play two games in Bermuda before flying to the United States.
“I was the only keeper for the first seven games because Bobby Clark was playing for Scotland in the Home Internationals.
“We were 4-2 up against a side in Somerset, Bermuda, when beer bottles started flying on.
“The referee decided he would blow the final whistle 10 minutes early.”
A second match in Bermuda passed without incident, then they were off to North America.
Andy saved a penalty in a victory over Baltimore Bays before Aberdeen took on Wolves four times in seven days.
The second game was the Dons’ first on an astroturf pitch, but that didn’t faze Andy.
He went on: “I was brought up playing on black ash in the west of Scotland. When I got home from games, my father would set to work on my knees with a scrubbing brush and rub until they bled to make sure all the grit was removed.”
Aberdeen beat Wolves 3-1 and 3-0. That didn’t please the English club.
Andy said: “Their manager, Bill McGarry, was very stand-offish with our boss, Jimmy Bonthrone, after those games.
“They then beat us twice. I think by that time the impact of our lads enjoying themselves in the evening was kicking in.
“I remember the last match against them was played in Los Angeles in 90-degree heat. “I’d never experienced anything like that. “The other thing that sticks in my mind is having our pictures taken with folk band, The Clancy Brothers.”
Bobby Clark flew out to join the party and Andy was on the bench when it all kicked off against Montreal Olympique.
He said: “They had Graeme Souness playing for them but he wasn’t the cause of trouble.
“We got a penalty and that led to fans throwing objects and invading the pitch.
“All sorts of things were hurled on, including a dustbin. I remember Alex Willoughby picking up a handbag! We were locked in the dressingroom and told the game was abandoned.”
“Two years earlier, I’d been living in a tenement flat in Glasgow. Now I was flying around the USA and staying in the best hotels.
“In 1974, we went to Iran, Australia and New Zealand on tour. That just wouldn’t happen now.”
During the trip, Andy was bitten by a conger eel off the Pacific island of New Caledonia!
Andy, now 70 and living in Derbyshire, left Aberdeen in 1976 for a spell with Ayr United in the Premier Division. He was then on the books of St Johnstone before hanging up his gloves to become a police officer.