Another one that I attended
Mark McGhee's finest match in an Aberdeen shirt
5 Ujpest Dosza 1984
An abject display (we are being kind..) in the first leg in Hungary as the Dons went down 2-0 suggested that their hold on the European Cup Winners Cup in 1984 was gone.
Aberdeen had never pulled back a two?goal deficit in Europe and no team had ever retained the ECWC.
The away leg was a game that defied belief. Even now when you watch it back, it still defines belief.
Aberdeen dominated the game but were guilty of some comical defending which gifted the home side two goals and at the other end two inexplicable misses from Strachan and McGhee from all of two yards – as bad as you will ever see – let’s just say incurred the wrath of manager Alex Ferguson.
In the end though Mark McGhee was the sinner turned hero after his two goals forced the game into extra time.
It needed a more typical display from the Dons in a frantic Pittodrie return.
Full of passion and grit Aberdeen overcame all the histrionics from the visitors. This was a night of real drama as the Hungarians were holding on and up to all sorts of time wasting tricks.
It took the Dons 37 minutes to finally break down the defensive wall and the chance was carved out when McLeish refused to give up the cause and kept in play a ball that looked destined to head for a goal kick.
The ball then fell to Miller and he found Strachan on the edge of the box. His cross went deep to the back post where McGhee stretched his neck muscles to head past Szendrei. Pittodrie erupted into a cauldron of noise and the final eight minutes of the half were played out in an electric atmosphere that clearly unnerved the visitors.
Ujpest were desperate throughout the second half as Aberdeen laid siege on their goal. The persistent fouling was allowed by the Belgian referee much to the frustration of the Aberdeen support.
Their antics appeared to have worked but two minutes from time Mark McGhee at last broke free to head the Dons second which levelled the tie and took the game to extra time. A throw in on the left was fed to Neil Simpson and his cross found McGhee in the middle and he prodded the ball past Szendrei from six yards.
People still talk about the atmosphere of Bayern Munich quarter final twelve months earlier, but the noise when the equaliser hit the net must be up there with anything the old stadium has heard.
The Hungarians were shattered by the late leveller and the Dons continued to pile on the pressure.
McGhee scored three minutes into extra time to put Aberdeen ahead in the tie for the first time and the Dons through to the semi-finals of the ECWC for the second time in their history.
Hungarian keeper Szendrei then head-butted Alex McLeish before being sent off.
