The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Ramirez says fans’ passion spurred Dons to big victory
Christian Ramirez believes the return of the Red Army in numbers to Pittodrie played a large part in helping Aberdeen to inflict a 5-1 thumping on BK Hacken.
The Dons look almost certain to progress to the third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League after producing a blistering performance against the shell-shocked Swedes.
An Andy Considine header and a Lewis Ferguson double put the Dons in the driving seat before Alexander Jeremejeff reduced the deficit with a smart finish for the Gothenburg side.
But a debut strike for American Ramirez and an injury-time goal from substitute Connor McLennan ensured the Dons will travel to Sweden next week with a commanding lead.
It was a night of pure entertainment for the 5,665 Dons supporters who were back in Pittodrie.
Aside from a crowd of 300 at a test game against Kilmarnock last September, it was the first time the Dons had played in front of a home support since 14,388 watched the Reds defeat Hibernian 3-1 on March 7 last year.
Ramirez said: “It was the first time I have played that amount of minutes in a long time. I had been itching to play in that environment and it was awesome.
“The guys fed off the crowd. You saw a lot of us looking at the crowd and pumping them up and telling them to be louder.
“For a lot of the guys it was the first time a lot of us had played in front of crowds in a long time.”
Ramirez’s family will travel to join him in Aberdeen next week and he can’t wait for them to experience the Pittodrie atmosphere for themselves.
He said: “They were supposed to be here on Wednesday but their visa appointment was pushed back until Friday. They will be here next week.
“I was on the phone to my family and I told them wait until you get here and hear this crowd.
“It is a culture shock and an atmosphere that is special. It is almost like you time travel a bit walking down these hallways in the stadium. It is special.”
Having experienced a limited crowd at Pittodrie, Ramirez is relishing the prospect of playing in front of bigger attendances later this season.
The Dons hope to be able to play in front of a capacity crowd when Ross County visit Pittodrie on August 28, providing the Scottish Government lifts the remaining Covid-related restrictions.
Ramirez said: “The atmosphere was definitely up there. I can only imagine it when the stadium is full.
“It is something we are heading towards and hopefully more people will rally behind us. We just need to keep building on this performance.
“I think we have a good bunch of leaders in this locker room that will keep us level-headed and working one game at a time.”
The Dons are now preparing for the return leg in Gothenburg – the scene of the club’s greatest moment when Alex Ferguson guided Aberdeen to European Cup-Winners’ Cup success against Real Madrid in 1983.
Ramirez, who has already been swotting up on the history of his new club, says there is no chance the Dons will take the second leg lightly despite their four-goal advantage.
He said: “One of my former Minnesota teammates, John Alvbage, actually stays in Sweden.
“He was a goalkeeper for us in 2017 and he messaged me that BK Hacken were a quality side and it will be tough for us in Sweden.
“They have their turf field but we will be ready and I am excited.
“I just watched the Sir Alex Ferguson documentary last week and saw the bit about Gothenburg.
“I was trying to picture the European song that was on the documentary.
“It just kept playing in my head.
“I went to the locker room and asked the boys to play the song but I didn’t know what it was called. I
have it now.”